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Chapter Text

There were so many people on campus and Mayu thought it was truly great exercise.  She holds onto the straps of her backpack as she tries to navigate through the crowd as smooth as possible before a taller girl bumps into her.  Mayu stops in place and whips her head around, hoping to see that the other girl stopped too to apologize to her.  But no, the taller girl kept walking further and further.  Feeling frustrated, she takes her phone out of her back pocket.

satzulvr512: one of these days i should slap someone i won’t but

luckyblackcat: you? lmao what happened?

satzulvr512: some girl just bumped into my shoulder and didn’t even say sorry. jerk!!

luckyblackcat: i will fight her for you, better yet! I WILL BLOW HER UP!!

satzulvr512: thank you you absolutely should

Mayu’s weekly routine included going to the gym and doing different workouts for a total of three hours at a time, going to her part time job at the cafe and going to classes.  Talking to her twitter mutual, luckyblackcat was also part of the routine but more so daily, even hourly actually.  She knew a lot about user luckyblackcat like her name was Melody, she was a fellow 2002 kid, she liked ordering strawberry lattes at cafes and that she had an older sister.  They had been friends online for years, their friendship managed to survive a dead twitter group chat over Kimetsu No Yaiba.  

There were only three people in her real life that Mayu felt close to and they were her cousins, Kotone, Kaede and Lynn.  It’s not that Mayu had trouble making friends, but did she have a lot?  Not quite, but it wasn’t entirely her fault.  Her only priorities are work and school, she had to get the bag and the degree.  There was almost no time for making new friends and having a girlfriend.  Although having a girlfriend would be a little nice…

luckyblackcat: do you think we’ve ever crossed paths before?

Walking past the sea of students trying to reach their own classes, Mayu is stuck on those words. Somehow, despite them going to the same university their paths never crossed.  Mayu looks up from her phone, spotting others glued to their devices as well.  She wonders if any of them were Melody.  If any of them was the person who couldn’t get out of her mind.

Not likely.

satzulvr512: who knows! it’s possible!

The lecture room to her statistics class was a far walk from the bus stop but at least it was good exercise.  Mayu tucks her phone back into her back pocket and downs another gulp from her pink redbull.  

When she finally reached the room, she swung the door open, relieved to see she wasn’t the only one.  The first few times, she had been the first one in the class and it was always a tad bit awkward trying to make small talk with her professor.  It was especially so because she found him to be just a tad bit unsettling.

One by one, more and more students filed in. 

Then came her.

Kim Nakyoung.

The woman was wearing rectangular sunglasses, a white cropped shirt and a cropped leather jacket to go with it.  Nakyoung swirls her iced coffee in one hand and sips on it, strutting down the classroom.  Mayu fights the eye roll seeing as to how Nakyoung was wearing sunglasses indoors.

Mayu got along generally with everyone she’s ever met, but if there was one person she couldn’t stand- it was Kim Nakyoung.  And of all the empty seats in the classroom, of course Nakyoung chose to sit next to her.

Of course she did.

There weren’t any official seats but Mayu always sat in the same one and for some reason every class, Nakyoung chose to sit in the seat next to Mayu.

Every.  Single.  Time. 

And after each class, Nakyoung would pick on her. 

Every.  Single.  Goddamn.  Time.

Nakyoung obnoxiously sips on her iced coffee as it was just about done so Mayu could only hear the loud screeching sound of Nakyoung trying to sip the last few drops when it was appropriate to toss it in the trash can.

Mayu flares loudly through her nostrils when Nakyoung taps on their shared table with her coffee cup.  Could she be any more loud?

“Psst.”

Mayu looks up from her notebook, having been interrupted on note taking.

“What?” Mayu whispers then glances back at the professor to make sure he didn’t notice the two of them.

Nakyoung scoots her chair a little closer to Mayu with an unreadable expression.

“Um… Do you have a pen or a pencil I can borrow?”

Just like how Nakyoung always liked to sit next to her for some reason, she also always liked to borrow something from Mayu's and conveniently forgets to give it back to her.

“But I already gave you my pencil last class, what happened to that?  Did you lose that too?” Mayu frowns, this time not reaching for her pencil pouch from her backpack.

Nakyoung looks at her shocked before rolling her chair away, “Sorry… I, uh, forgot it.”

“Again, really?”

“Sorry,” Nakyoung pouts. “I’ll give it back to you after class.”

Mayu waves her off, “It’s fine.  They’re all from daiso anyways, it’s fine.”

Feeling both annoyed and defeated, she gives into this circle she and Nakyoung found themselves in.  Every class, Nakyoung sits next to her, asks to borrow something.  Nakyoung doesn’t give it back and before they part ways, Nakyoung downright makes fun of her.  Oftentimes it’s on what she’s wearing.

Despite her dislike for the woman next to her, it was hard for her to ignore people; it just wasn’t in her.  She was just too kind.  She also couldn’t say no to a pretty woman, even if she despised her.  Because even though she’d rather not be around Nakyoung, she could never deny how drop dead gorgeous she was. 

Then again neither could any other student at Ewha University.  Mayu heard the rumors and gossip on Nakyoung’s dating life.  

Nakyoung dumped this girl, Nakyoung was seen with this girl,  Nakyoung is a great kisser.   

She’s heard so many stories about her and all of it combined with Nakyoung being the most unpleasant person in the world, she was never in a million years going to be added to the long list of ex girlfriends.  

Not that Nakyoung would ever actually want to date her, but just in case.

“I can make it up to you.”

Mayu shakes her head and shuffles in her seat, tightening her grip on her own pencil. “It’s fine.  I don’t need anything.  Thanks though.”

“It’s really no problem, we can go to Gongcha after this.”

“Seriously I’m fine I-” Mayu takes a breath, freezing in place.  She looks at Nakyoung curiously who held her head uncharacteristically low. “Gongcha? Why did you say Gongcha?”

Nakyoung’s eyes widen for a moment before she rubs the back of her neck. “You like it don’t you?”

Mayu blinks at her for a few seconds. Because she does but-

“How did you know that?”

“I’ve seen you drink it a lot before,” Nakyoung explains a little flustered. “I figured you must really like boba.”

Mayu raises an eyebrow at this for two reasons.  One: Nakyoung was weirdly observant of her, so that threw her off.  For someone who made fun of her often, she seemed to pay attention to minor details.  For someone who made fun of her often, she also lost the confident front she normally put out.  But it was always only when she was talking to her.  Nakyoung was a known flirt, a player as Mayu would say.

Two: any nice moment they had was swiftly cut off with Nakyoung teasing her, and Mayu was not a fan of that and the woman herself.

“I mean… I prefer tea over coffee.” Mayu says quietly and goes back to focusing on note taking.

Nakyoung snorts, “Yeah.  Drink tea much?  Your body is tea but is actually full of tea.  Drink some water for once.  Haha!” 

Mayu looks up at her and exhales loudly through her nose before pulling out her water bottle from her backpack and nearly slams it on the table.  The thudding cuts off Nakyoung’s obnoxious chuckles and she nervously gulps as Mayu stares at her coldly.

Mayu pops open the lid to her bottle and drinks from her straw, making sure to drink from the bottle for at least a few seconds before closing the lid.  

“Oh-”

“Please let me just focus on taking notes.”

“Well the thing about drinking water is that-”

The professor clears his throat loudly, his icy cold stare sends shivers down Mayu’s spine.  Mayu feels as though her heart stopped in that moment and all she could think about was the sweet treat she’d reward herself too after this.  

From the corner of her eye, she could see Nakyoung scrambling at her side to gather her own notes.  She sighs heavily and rubs her temple before putting all of her attention to the lecture.  This was going to be a long two hours.

As soon as the clock turned to 12pm, Mayu nearly threw everything in her backpack and put her wireless bluetooth headphones over her head.  She puts on a Twice song and turns up the volume to further isolate herself.  She practically jumps out of her seat and dashes to the door without sparing another glance at the woman next to her who had been silently watching her. 

She scurries past other students and finally begins to feel a little peace before she feels a few taps on her shoulder.  Mayu taps on her right headphone, pauses the music and whips her head around.  A frown overtakes her when she sees the person who tapped her shoulder was Nakyoung.

Of course it was Nakyoung again.

Mayu stares at Nakyoung silently who was fiddling with something behind her back.  She slides off her headphones, looking at her expectantly, just waiting for Nakyoung to do or say something already.  Even if it was going to be mean spirited, she just wanted her to get it out of the way.

“Um..” Mayu squints her eyes further at her when the sudden eye contact makes Nakyoung avert her gaze to the tall trees that hovered over them. “...Can I help you?”

Nakyoung nervously chuckles, resting a hand at the top of her head and extending the other hand in her face.  Mayu blinks twice when her brain processes that it was all the pencils Nakyoung borrowed.

Nakyoung bites her lip before smacking her lips, as if she was trying to find the perfect words to say.

“So I uh… I found them at the bottom of my backpack,” Nakyoung mumbles almost too quietly for Mayu to hear. “Sorry.”

Mayu looks at her dumbfounded and slowly pushes Nakyoung’s hand back to the woman’s own chest. 

“I told you it’s okay.  They’re dirt cheap.” Mayu says with a small smile.  She’s not sure why she smiled a bit, maybe it was because of the way Nakyoung looked at her a little cutely. “Consider them yours.  Cherish them I guess because I’m not going to lend you anymore.”

Nakyoung visibly brightens at Mayu’s playful tone of voice. 

“I definitely will!” Nakyoung smiles and kicks at the gravel beneath them, almost looking like she’s swinging her leg back and forth.  She puts the pencils back in her backpack but as delicately as possible which Mayu finds a little amusing. Nakyoung looks back up at her, smiling almost shyly at her. “Also I’m sorry about what I said earlier.”

“It’s fine.”

It actually was fine though, it didn’t matter or hurt Mayu anymore in the slightest.  Did she still want to leave and get away from her as soon as possible?  Absolutely.

“I was also serious about paying for your Gongcha.  I feel like I should now since you let me have your pencils and shit.”

As much as Mayu wanted to agree to get a free drink, sirens started to go off in her head.  This must be the beginning steps Nakyoung takes to get a girl.  Mayu may be single but she has zero interest in the woman before her, because really the person who holds her heart is someone she hasn’t even met yet.  Despite that, Mayu trusts Melody far more than she trusts Nakyoung.  All Nakyoung would do is use her and toss her aside as she’s done with countless other students.  To her, Nakyoung might just be the last person she’d ever date.

“Umm, yeah sorry.  I have a shift right after this,” Mayu points behind her with her thumb, watching Nakyoung slightly deflate.  What a weird reaction. “Working all night.”

“Right right, at the Tokyo Izakaya right?” Nakyoung hums and nods her head, almost looking like a kicked puppy.

“Yeah I-” Mayu stops mid sentence and blinks at her in silence again. “How did you know that?”

Nakyoung’s cheeks flush vividly as she messes with her hair and chuckles nervously again. 

“You’ve mentioned it before,” Nakyoung says. “Also I’ve eaten there a few times and have seen you working.”

For someone who has a C minus in their class, Nakyoung remembered another throw away detail about Mayu.  The fact that Nakyoung remembered not only shocks Mayu but only makes her even more suspicious.  

Just what are you up to Kim Nakyoung… 

“Oh… Well yeah I’m working there pretty much everyday and when I’m not here.”

“Oh damn… Well at least you’re getting those paychecks in!”

“Yeah that’s true! Somebody’s gotta pay rent.”

“Right haha!” 

….

Mayu huffs a small breath before checking the time on her wristwatch, frowning slightly seeing how much time she had left to catch the bus to her job.

“I gotta go now.  Umm… Nice talk I guess?  See ya next time…In class?”

Nakyoung’s eyes widens in panic as she stumbles a step towards Mayu who had taken a step away.

Mayu looks at her puzzled as she feels genuinely confused as to why Nakyoung keeps trying to talk to her.  She stays in place as Nakyoung takes a small step towards her.  

“Before you go!” Nakyoung blurts out, pointing at her feet.

Mayu raises an eyebrow, looking down at her crocs with rabbit charms on it.  They were a little beat up but they were her beater and work shoes.  What used to be a vibrant peach color was now covered in scuffs and stains.

“My crocs…?”

“They’re funky looking.”

“...Funky looking…”

Nakyoung starts giggling and puts a hand back on top of her head while pointing at her shoes with the other. “Yeah!  Like who else would wear those funky shoes other than you.  They’re very you !  Funky!”

Mayu squints her eyes and chooses to keep things appropriate for now, and instead huffs a big breath tightening her lips into a fine line.

…

“Yeah okay.  Goodbye.” 

Mayu turns around with quickness as she slides her headphones back over her ears and turns her music on again, this time turning up the volume just a little bit more.

She walks the fastest she’s ever walked to her bus stop.

Mayu uses what little strength she had left to turn the key to her apartment.  Work had been busy, grueling almost.  Somebody called out so what was supposed to be a simple four hour shift turned into a long eight and a half.  And that wasn’t accounting for the bus ride and walk back home.  The only thing that made it worth it was the wad of cash she got as tips.  Another thing was that the owners and chef let her bring home food for dinner. 

She kicks off her shoes and finally undoes her ponytail and brushes her hair with her hand, walking further inside.  Inside, Kotone, Kaede and Lynn were all in the dining room.

Kotone looks up from her laptop,  “Sup cuz! That was kinda a long shift?”

Kaede nods her head while sipping a box of melon flavored milk. “Yeah weren’t you supposed to be off earlier?”

Mayu sighs as she sets the bag of food down on the table, opening it and taking out the boxes of fried rice, dumplings and some pork katsu cuts and onto the table.

“Yeah but Moana was out sick with food poisoning,” Mayu explains as Kotone and Kaede approach the table with plates in their hands. “So then my boss was like, ‘Hey Mayu, can you stay longer and close actually since you’re shift lead and all?’”

“That place would fall apart without you.” Lynn says while turning the page to her comic book.

“Not the shift lead card.” Kaede says while dumping the fried rice on a plate. “You got a raise for it though right?”

“Of course I did!” Mayu crosses her arms with a playful smile. “I’m not a total pushover!”

“Well…” Kaede shrugs her shoulders.

Mayu scoffs and hits Kaede’s shoulder before sitting down. “You finish helping set up dinner, I had a long shift and don’t even get me started on what happened at school today.” She gestures at the rest of the food on the table.

“Oh we won’t-”

“So Kim Nakyoung!”

Kotone and Kaede collectively groan with Kaede dropping her head to the table, blocking her blow with her fist.  Lynn on the other hand folds her hands and nods, attentively and patiently waiting for the eldest’s complaints.  Mayu fishes her hand in the plastic bag before throwing away its paper cover and aggressively rips it apart.  She flares her nostrils as she rubs the two ends together and begins filling her plate, ignoring Kotone’s concerned and cautious stare as she was still trying to finish up dumping the other foot containers out on a plate.

“She was just so… So…!” Mayu scrunches her face in frustration.

Nakyoung really had a way of ruining her mood.  She was definitely going to complain about her to Melody as she always does.  Now if only there was a way to finally stand up to her and tell her enough is enough.

Mayu attempts to pick up a gyoza with her chopsticks but after a few seconds of being unable to, she angrily stabs into it.  Kaede’s eyes widen when Mayu gnaws off one half

“Mean!” Mayu shouts.

“You know one of these days you should stick it to her,” Kotone comments. “Say something mean back and maybe she’ll leave you alone?”

“I’m sorry, are we talking about our dearest Mayu?” Kaede chuckles in between bites. “The same one who cried and apologized to that one bicyclist? Mind you SHE was the one who got hit by them?!”

“Well to be fair I wasn’t really looking-”

“Oh please!  You had a big ass cut and so many bruises!  Again YOU were the one who got hit!  Your mom was about to take you to the emergency room because you went pale!”

Kotone holds back a laugh at the ridiculous memory. “Okay but still my point still stands!  Nakyoung has been apparently bothering her and saying mean things to her since, like the day they met!”

“I don’t know what I’ve done to be picked on by her.” Mayu groans as she rubs the bridge of her nose, remembering Nakyoung’s comment about her shoes.  She had nicer shoes than those crocs but her crocs were her go to shoes.  Forgive a woman for wanting to wear something not meant to impress people…

“Look,” Kotone says firmly, pointing at her. “I’m not saying you have to straight up bully her back but you know… Just say something that’s snarky enough to get her to leave you alone.”

“Again dude, this is the same woman who cried and clung onto grandma while we rode the Haunted Mansion.” Kaede counters.

“In her defense we were kids.” Lynn tries to reason, only for Kaede to stare blankly at her in response.

“Thank you Lynn!  We WERE kids!” Mayu takes another big bite of her food, “But you know what the strange thing is though?”

“Hmm?”

“She remembered that I like bubble tea and where I work…” Mayu says before pausing for a few seconds for dramatic effect. “Like she tried to offer to buy me Gongcha and I was like ‘No thanks’ and then when I said I was going to work she said the restaurant name! I don’t even talk to her!  How could she possibly have known that?!  What is she doing like writing all of this down in a Burn Book or something?!”

“That would be crazy if she did, like if so then she has way too much time on her hands,” Kaede laughs in disbelief. “Like I would seriously hope not.”

“Who knows!  I always catch her staring at me whenever we’re in the same room!”

“...You do??” Kotone tilts her head to the side, slowly chewing on her food. “Okay well I know you’ve said she’s been mean to you but hear me out… What are the chances her staring at you is actually her checking you out?” 

Mayu frowns even more, “Don’t be ridiculous Tone.”

It was ridiculous because Nakyoung wouldn’t.  She knew she wasn’t the type of girl that was hung in the same crowd as Nakyoung.  While the typical person of interest had their own fancy cars, thousands of followers on Instagram somehow and party frequently, Mayu was on the other side.  She didn’t have her own car, she had less than a hundred followers on Instagram and she chose to spend her free nights at home.  But this didn’t bother her, she just knew that she existed in a world Nakyoung had no desire to look into.

“Burn…book…?” Lynn asks confusedly while Mayu and Kotone go back and forth.

“American movie.” Kaede informs in a monotone voice.

“Ohhh okay!” Lynn nods. 

“Hey I was just putting it out there!” Kotone tries to reason. “It’s so possible, you are like one of the few people in your guys’ class that hasn’t shown any interest in her.”

“That’s because I don’t have interest in her nor will I ever be interested in her.  She and I are so different it would never work.”

Kotone blinks at her confused, “Okay so you have thought about it before?”

“Are you twisting my words?!”

“It kinda sounded like that did it not?!” Kotone cheekily grins, knowing she’s pushing her cousin’s buttons.

“What the?!” Mayu drops her chopsticks and points it at Kotone. “...CLEAN YOUR EARS!”

Kaede starts cackling at the table, “Oh come on she was so totally trying to rile you up.”

“Why is it so easy to scare or pick on you still?” Kotone says as she wipes away a tear from laughing too hard.

Just when Mayu was about to start yelling some more and scold her little cousins, her phone’s notification sound rings loudly.  She snaps her head at her phone on the table and her face instantly lights up upon seeing who messaged her.  The one person in this world (who wasn’t related to her) that made her look forward to waking up every morning, because seeing Melody’s good morning messages was enough for her to get through the day.  The one person in this world who was like an umbrella on a rainy day.  Now if only there was a way for her to finally have the courage and tell her how she really feels.

Both Kotone and Kaede lean further into their seats, trying to get a peek at Mayu’s phone.  Kaede even gets up to run around the table and stops right behind Mayu’s chair before the older woman clutches her phone to her chest.

“Let me guess, was that your twitter friend?” Kotone teases. “Or should I say girlfriend?”

“Oooh!” Kaede says before mocking her by making kissy faces.

“We’re not girlfriends!” Mayu argues back although by how red her face was, it was obvious how she felt about it.

Mayu absolutely wants Melody to be her girlfriend.

“Not girlfriends yet!” Kotone smiles. 

“Did she make you another playlist?” Kaede chuckles as she wiggles her eyebrows.

Mayu looks back down at her phone and almost feels scared by how correct Kaede was.  

“Maybe…”

“GIRLFRIENDS!” Kotone shouts, cupping her mouth with her hands. 

Melody did this often.  Melody made playlists specifically just for her and they all varied in genre.  One Melody sent her a playlist for when she wanted to listen to noisy songs, and although Mayu wasn’t one for noisy music she appreciated it nonetheless.  But her heart stops when she reads the title of her new personally curated playlist.

songs that make me think of you

Just the title alone was enough to give her that feeling of butterflies in her stomach.  Just the title alone was enough to make her audibly squeal too and kick her feet excitedly.

She shows her phone to her cousins, unable to conceal what had to have been the biggest smile she’s ever had.

“Oh that’s a little romantic…” Lynn grins.

“SHE WANTS YOU BAD DUDE!” Kaede shouts as she slams her fists on the table in excitement. “KISS KISS KISS!!”

luckyblackcat: i spent a little longer making this for you but i hope you like it :)

Mayu sighs dreamily at the thought of her friend taking the time to make another playlist for her.  Melody was so sweet.

satzulvr512: another playlist from you? ofc i will there’s no way i won’t

luckyblackcat: this playlist obviously reminds me of you but there’s a reason why

satzulvr512: oh? how so

luckyblackcat: listen to it and tell me what you think 

The playlist is full of love songs, which is one thing.  It was another when Mayu notices that as she scrolls down the title of each song almost becomes more intimate, almost like it was a story. 

A story of a girl pouring out her feelings for another.

Could it be that Melody possibly has feelings for her too?

From Beautiful Soul to Enchanted to Tell Me That You Love Me to Yes or Yes to eventually ending with I.L.Y.A.L I Like You A Lot by Carlina.  The message had to have been what she was hoping for.

“She totally likes you,” Kotone says as she leans into Mayu’s shoulder before hitting it excitedly. “That whole playlist is full of love songs dude!”

“Right I’m just noticing the song titles too and it gets progressively more like… Romantic?” Mayu questions.

“And remind me again on how and why you two haven’t met in person yet?” Kaede asks while going back to her seat. “I mean you guys are best friends and go to the same university and still haven’t met each other somehow?”

“I can’t believe I’m gonna say this but Kaede’s right…No offense.” Kotone rubs her chin.

Kaede puts her hands up in the air, pursing her lips. “None taken.”

Mayu looks up at the ceiling, avoiding the judgemental stares of her cousins. “Well about that…”

“Go on.” Kotone crosses her arms expectantly.

“I just work a lot.” Mayu says quietly.

“Well yeah obviously you do, but that can’t possibly be it.  What about the days you don’t work?”

Mayu sighs, wanting to drop her head on the table in embarrassment. “I’m nervous…”

Kaede scrunches her face in confusement as Kotone narrows her eyes at Mayu.

“Nervous because…?”

“What if she sees me and she’s not what she expects?” Mayu groans, this time letting her head drop on the table.

There’s a loud thud that comes from Mayu dropping her head.  Kotone winces and tries to nudge her older cousin up for a sign of life before her hands are slapped away as Mayu whines.

“Come on man, you gotta have more confidence in yourself.” Kotone weakly punches Mayu’s shoulder. “You’re not ugly!”

“Wait, so have you two sent pictures of yourselves?” Kaede asks, confused.

Mayu lifts up her head slowly, revealing a new bright red bump on her forehead.  Kaede drops her jaw and reaches across the table to touch it before Kotone shoos her hand away.

“No.  It just like… Never came up.”

“Neither of you did any selca days or anything?”

“I’m not putting my face out on the internet.” Mayu shakes her head. “Have you seen that Netflix show You ?  What if a random guy starts stalking me?!”

“Hmm… Okay, good point.”

“Actually we’ve never been on a call.” Mayu admits quickly 

“Wait hold on,” Lynn waves her hand in the air as if she were a student hoping to answer a question. “I have an idea!”

“Girl you don’t have to raise your hand, we’re not in school.  Just say the idea dude.” Kaede shakes her head.

“Okay well, the masquerade ball is this Saturday.  What if you asked her out and met her there?”

“OOH!!” Kotone snaps her fingers with wide eyes. “WHAT A GREAT IDEA!”

“It’s kind of perfect too because of the masks and all, it’s not like you have to take them off if you’re really that scared,” Lynn explains. “But again you shouldn’t be scared!  It’s what’s on the inside that counts and clearly, she likes you for who you are and you’re not ugly.  I think if anything she’d drop to her knees.”

“Aww that was a nice thing to say!” Kaede laughs before looking over at Mayu, dropping her smile. “Stop being a coward.”

“Go to the dance!” Kotone tries to encourage. “Think about how fun that would be.”

“Not to mention, obviously romantic!” Lynn mentions. “You two can slow dance, and ooh!  Maybe even kiss!”

Lynn’s face lights up the same way a kid in a candy shop would, or more accurately; a lesbian watching a Thai GL.

“One problem,” Mayu shakes her head unamused before eating more from her plate. “I’m working the closing shift this Saturday.  So, even if I wanted to go, I couldn’t.”

Kaede throws up a middle finger in the air, “Girl fuck your job!”

Kotone purses her lips with one eyebrow raised, “What time do you guys close again?”

“Midnight on weekends starting this Saturday.” Mayu groans as she rubs her temples.  She thinks of the rush of customers from earlier in the evening and knows that the crowd will double in size on Saturday as weekends were the busiest days of the week.  “It’s not going to be fun because my boss told us earlier this week that they were going to start doing weekend specials too.”

“Damn, we gotta get you a new job.” Kaede says quietly

Mayu felt that sometimes her boss was a crazy person that found amusement in subjecting her and her coworkers, but especially her, to their episodes.  She glances back at her phone, half hoping to see a new notification from Melody.  Unable to go another second without listening to the playlist, Mayu stands abruptly from her chair with her plate in hand.  It only takes a few seconds for her cousins to catch on before they start cheering and whistling her on, making her blush wildly.

“Are you gonna go listen to your beloved’s special made playlist for you?!” Kaede teases before making kissy faces again.

“Maybe!” Mayu yells back before her cousins subsequently start hooting and hollering before she kicks her door closed. 

She nearly trips over her own feet while shuffling towards her desk chair.  After setting down her plate and choosing to ignore some of the pieces of cabbage that falls onto her desk, she picks up her headphones and turns it on to connect to her phone.  Cutely enough and what had to have been an even bigger sign was that Melody changed the playlist picture to a cartoon of a cute black cat with a white rabbit.

The woman leans her head back on her chair and spins around as the playlist begins playing.  She hyper focuses on the lyrics of each song, noting how as the playlist progresses the feelings get more intense just as she expected from earlier. 

satzulvr512: im listening to your playlist rn

Mayu’s face lights up when she sees the message being opened immediately.  

luckyblackcat: thoughts? :3

satzulvr512: these songs are really cute, i like them :3

luckyblackcat: anything else? 

satzulvr512: well you did say this playlist makes you think of me right?

luckyblackcat: that is correct yes

satzulvr512: hmmm… i’m stumped, maybe you should tell me

Mayu kicks her feet in the air, gleefully watching as the text bubbles from Melody’s end appear and disappear.  Surely it had to mean what she wanted it to mean. 

luckyblackcat: i have something to confess.

satzulvr512: you can tell me anything

luckyblackcat: i really really like you

Mayu feels like she’s about to explode of joy, jumping out of her chair and dancing victoriously.  She stops in the center of her room, making sure to answer back before she’s too swept up in her giddyness of the moment.

satzulvr512: i really really like you too.

“Did you confess yet?!” Kaede yells from the other side of the door.

Mayu looks up from her phone with the biggest and happiest smile plastered on her face, even when her cousins file in.  She slides off her headphones and shows Lynn failing to contain her excitement as she’s squealing and shaking the phone.

Lynn calmly steadies her hand while reading before jumping in excitement with Mayu.  Kotone grabs the phone for her and Kaede to read the messages.  In a matter of seconds, Mayu’s phone is thrown to her bed and all of temp and jumping around in a circle, cheering as if they had won the world cup. 

“WE TOLD YOU!  YOU HAD NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!” Kotone yells through the noise.

Mayu stops jumping and calms down after a few moments, seeing as to how Melody sends her another message.

luckyblackcat: i want to meet you face to face. i’ve been crazy about you for some time now. you just get me and i love beginning and ending my day by talking to you.  every morning i wake up excited to see a good morning text from you.  every time we talk i feel like a teenager it’s crazy how much i like you. 

Mayu’s heart feels like it’s about to burst out of her chest and start running around the room.  Her cousins stand and watch over her shoulders.  The woman’s hands shake from the nerves that began overtaking her. Just how is one supposed to respond to a message like this, especially when the last relationship (if it could be considered that) happened in high school.

“‘Cuz say something, she’s probably watching and waiting with her phone open.” Lynn says softly.

“Or she probably threw her phone and is pacing around her room right now waiting for her to respond.” Kotone suggests.

“Oh who cares?!” Kaede shakes her head. “Answer her!”

satzulvr512: i really really like you too. i’ve been crazy about you for a really long time.  honestly when you’ve talked about going on dates and stuff it bummed me out so for a while i thought maybe you wouldn’t ever like me.  but talking to you makes everyday worth it

“You’re so down bad, like horrendously bad oh my god.” Kaede scoffs.

“Hey, show respect for your elders!” Lynn scolds.

“GUYS PLEASE! HUSH!” Mayu shuts her eyes and breathes to ground herself again. “I need everyone to be quiet and take two steps back!”

”Sorry…” All three cousins mumble in unison.

Mayu sighs in relief, the feeling of her cousins breathing down her neck quite literally goes away.  Somebody’s breath was a little too warm on her neck, she thinks.  It almost made her think that her heater was on.  

luckyblackcat: to tell you the truth i thought you’d never like me that way, i went out with different girls bc i felt like my feelings were unrequited. to tell you the truth i almost didn’t make this playlist and tell you how i felt. 

satzulvr512: what made you change your mind?

luckyblackcat:  my irl bestie encouraged me 

satzulvr512: hmm we should thank them

luckyblackcat: we should. the masquerade ball is this saturday let’s meet there?

“Oh dude now you gotta go for real.” Kaede says in Mayu’s ear.

The eldest shrieks out of fear, her mind split into trying to figure out how she didn’t notice her cousins creep back up behind her and the other focused on the thought of finally meeting Melody.

“Life is short,” Kotone comments, taking a seat on her bed. “Sometimes when you see something worth diving for, you dive!” She furrows her brows together. “Did that make sense...?”

“I think?” Kaede answers.

“Listen ‘cuz.  I’m going to the dance anyway, so if you go I’ll be right there with you.  My girlfriend too!”

Mayu contemplates her thoughts Kotone and Kaede nod their heads before all three dramatically whip their heads at the youngest cousin.  Lynn visibly shrinks from the collective stares.

“Your who now?!” Kotone menacingly stares in the sides of Lynn’s head.

“You guys don’t know her…”

“Clearly!”

“It’s Sullin…”

Kotone gasps and pushes her away from her.

“THE TIKTOKER AND STREAMER WITH A MILLION FOLLOWERS?!” Kaede yells in shock as she clutches her chest as if she were wearing pearls.

“Yeah that one…”

Kotone shakes her head and points at Mayu, bringing back the attention to her. “Okay let’s talk about that later and go back to what’s important: Mayu and the love of her life finally meeting at the dance.”

“That’s right!  Hell, I’ll go to the ball for support!” Kaede says.

“Yeah me too! Well all go!” Kotone encourages. “We’ll be right with you until you meet her of course.”

“I like to believe there’s someone out there for everybody.” Lynn speaks softly. “Maybe this girl is the one for you?  You never know unless you get out there and meet her yourself.”

Now that she knows her true feelings though and with the support of her family behind her, what was there to be scared of?

“You’re right.” Mayu nods and bounces up and down on her tippy toes. “You’re all absolutely right. And if Lynn chan can get a girlfriend, SO CAN I!”

“Wait what are you trying to imply here-“

“YEAH THATS RIGHT!”

Mayu takes a deep breath before opening up the direct messages on Twitter.

satzulvr512: the masquerade ball it is!

luckyblackcat: i’ll see you then ;)

Mayu grins and shows off her phone to her cousins. “I did it, you guys!”

“You’re a big girl now!” Kotone says, slapping her shoulder. “Congrats!”

Kotone swings an arm over Mayu’s shoulder and the other over Lynn.  The cousins huddle in a circle as if they were athletes.

“Okay so the masquerade ball is Saturday.” Kotone firmly says as she frowns slightly.

Lynn nods her head enthusiastically. “Right!”

“And today is Thursday.”

“Right!”

“‘Cuz do you have work tomorrow?”

“Surprisingly no!” Mayu answers.

“Shopping day for our masks, dresses, slash suits tomorrow everyone?” Kaede suggests, sticking out her bottom lip.

The cousins make eye contact with one another, agreeing in silence as sometimes words weren’t needed when they were all on the same page.

“Fantastic!” Kotone says as everyone stands up right.  After she puts her hands in the middle, prompting everyone to look at her a little funny.  Lynn, happy and enthusiastic as ever, puts her hand in the middle first with Mayu and Kaede looking expectantly. “What?  This is a team meeting.”

“What’s our team name…?” Kaede asks suspiciously.

“Team Koma Kamimoto Yamada Kawakami!”

“Girl please be so real right now.”

“While I do appreciate my last name being first,” Mayu chuckles, putting a hand in. “That name is way too long.”

“Team deadly horseman.”

Kaede frowns at her. “Dude you suck at this.”

“I don’t see you coming up with anything better!”

“TEAM DEADLY HORSEMEN?!  WHO ARE YOU, MOZART?!”

Kotone yanks away her hand in shock as Mayu and Lynn retreat to themselves watching the other two have a stand off.

“MOZART?! ARE YOU DUMB OR ARE YOU STUPID? WHAT ARE YOU GONNA SAY NEXT, THE SIXTEENTH CHAPEL?!”

“Hey guys uh,” Lynn interrupts politely with a finger in the air. “I feel like we’re moving away from our topic of interest which is helping Mayu meet this Melody girl at the ball.”

“Right, we will. I'm just concerned she thinks Mozart is in the bible.”

“He’s in there right before the part about Sir Isaac Newton and his cherry tree that talked to him and what not.”

Kotone huffs. “Okay now you’re just rage baiting me, I know you’re not this stupid.”

Kaede cackles menacingly having achieved her goal of getting under Kotone’s skin and gathers everyone around again, putting her hand in the center.

“Okay I’m done.” Kaede wheezes, wiping a tear away with her free hand.

Kotone rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath before continuing. “Okay, operation get Mayu to meet the girl of her dreams phase one commences tomorrow after me and Lynn come home from school.  Let’s break on three, one, two-”

“Wait before we break, our team name should be, cousin clan.” Mayu pops in, waiting for her cousins’ approval. “I mean it’s literally our group chat name.”

“Works for me.” Kaede says. “I don’t know why Tone suggested anything else.”

“It doesn’t hurt to have something new and creative jack ass!”

“It’s better than what grandma would've said,” Lynn laughs at the thought. “She would’ve said ‘team all my grandkids are gay’.”

All four of the cousins giggle hysterically at Lynn’s accurate answer for what their grandma would’ve suggested.  The odds of all four grandchildren being sapphic women were low but they were never zero.  And here they were with one having a girlfriend, one being resident man hater, one dressing like the commander futch and now one more, hopefully getting a girlfriend by the end of the ball. 

“As the oldest and therefore leader of team cousin clan,” Kotone looks over at Mayu. “You should break us.”

“I love how we’re acting like an actual sports team, this is fun!” Lynn giggles.

Mayu pats her head endearingly before placing her hand on top of the pile.

“One, two, three- BREAK!”

“Break!”

“Break!”

“BRRREAK!” Kaede says at the top of her lungs.  She really emphasized on rolling her tongue so the R came out more dramatically.

“Okay I love you guys and all but I wanna listen to the playlist again but alone this time.”

They had been at the outdoor shopping mall for hours and all but one cousin snagged their outfits for the ball. Kaede found her dress in another store quickly because to her, anything looks good on her.  Then Kotone and Lynn bought formal suits instead because Kotone saw pictures of female idols in suits and Lynn wanted to show her girlfriend a cool and handsome side to her.  All of this left Mayu, jumping from store to store, feeling more and more dissatisfied each time she walks out empty handed.  At this rate they were going to have to buy their masks hours before the masquerade.

There was one last boutique at the very west wing that the cousins hadn’t reached yet.  Mayu huffed in frustration, as she pulled the heavy glass door open.  She walks as if she were on a mission (granted she kind of was) as her cousins filed in one after one.

“Hi there, welcome in!” An older woman, seemingly in her 30’s greets.

“Hi.” Mayu waves before bee lining to the first rack of dresses she sees.

Kaede sucks up the last bits of her smoothie, its loud sound almost bleeding out the quiet music that was playing in the store.

“Looking for anything in particular today?” the woman asks as she steps away from her glass counter.

Mayu looks up from two dresses she had in her hands and to Kotone, Kaede and Lynn for approval.  The three cousins take a few seconds examining the dresses before collectively shaking their heads.

“Dresses.  We’re going to a masquerade ball tomorrow night.” Mayu sighs while putting the dresses back on their rack.

“Masquerade you say?” The woman asks amused. “You came to the right place.”

Mayu raises an eyebrow suspiciously as the older woman steps closer to the group with a big smile.  Instinctively, Mayu steps in front of her cousins as if she had the muscles to defend everyone.  

The older woman looks behind her and at the glass counter. “I sell masks here too.  Just in case people needed some for a party.  Which is actually really funny because earlier I had a group of girls about your age come in and bought masks from here too.  Maybe you’re going to the same one?”

“Oh wow we should’ve come here first.” Kaede whispers.

Mayu drops her jaw and nearly jumps to the glass counter as the store clerk walks back behind the counter. Her eyes flicker at the rows of masks, ranging from discreet to extravagant.  Her eyes landed on a particular mask, a white lace rabbit mask that had traces of gold.  It wasn’t too small as if she wore it, it would conceal half of her face.  Kotone, Kaede and Lynn tip toe quietly behind her and gaze at the masks before them.

“Oooh these are really cool!” Lynn says, setting down her smoothie on the corner.

Kotone looks down below at the masks, pleased with their options. “You said some people came in and bought masks too?”

“Yeah.  Crazy coincidence right?  Is there an event going on?”

“Our university holds an annual masquerade ball right before the end of classes,” Lynn explains happily. “It’s gonna be my first time going.”

“Mine too.” Kotone comments.

“Same here.” Kaede says before yawning.

Mayu stares intensely at the rabbit mask before she looks up in surprise and at her cousins. “Wait, me too.”

“How did we just now figure this out you guys.”

“Aww, our first time going to a dance together. That's so nice you guys!” Lynn says as she gathers them all for a group hug. “And it’ll be even more special because Mayu chan is getting a girlfriend!”

The store clerk perks up immediately and leans in a little closer to the four girls. “Wait… Getting a girlfriend you say?”

“Yeah?”

“Okay now this is gonna sound a little crazy but,” The store clerk laughs and pushes up her glasses. “That same group of girls had one of them also apparently getting a girlfriend at their event too.”

The room falls silent for a few passing moments with each girl processing the information just given to them.  

“...How long ago was this?” Mayu asks slowly.

The store clerk hums and checks her wrist watch. “I’d say about like an hour or two ago?”

The same city, the same event and same store but somehow Mayu must’ve missed her mystery girl by a mere few hours.  Now she just kind of wants to spontaneously combust on the spot.

“What are the odds it was her you guys…” Mayu grabs onto Lynn’s arm aggressively. “It.  Has.  To.  Be.”

“It probably was if we’re being real.” Kaede says casually. “I mean come on.  Same area, same sort of event.  Come on, how many masquerade balls are being held here in Seoul?  Definitely one.”

“It’s like that one trope where the two love interests keep missing each other before they finally meet whoaaa.” Kotone covers her mouth with her hand in awe. “This is kinda crazy…”

Mayu points down at the rabbit mask below her, feeling even more determined to finish the mission objective.  She was going to get her girl.

“I’ll take this mask please.”

The store clerk, having felt the energy shift from her, reaches for the mask before handing it off to Mayu.  Mayu traces her fingers over the fabric, her smile growing the longer she looks at it.  It had to be this one.

“Anything else I can help you with?”

Mayu glances up happily. “Can you help me find the perfect dress?”

The music from the event hall bled into the night.  Hundreds of other students walked along the lit up path, chatting up lively conversations.  Mayu stood there, watching every student that passed by her.  She wondered again, if any of them were her.

She called out of work, lying to her boss saying that she got food poisoning. It was the only way she could get out of working the midnight shift, but now standing outside of the hall, she really did feel like she was going to throw up.  Melody was either inside or just arriving.  The time had finally come.

Mayu touches the mask that concealed her identity, almost like it was a new form of stress and anxiety relief.  Lynn matched her black suit and tie with a black and blue butterfly mask.  Kotone chose a white and gold mask that had the shape of a crescent moon at its center to go with her formal vest and pantsuit.  Kaede wore a simple strapless green dress and complimented it with a golden mask with a leaf pattern.  The store clerk chose an off the shoulder light blue long dress with a slit.  She even went as far as to give her a pair of silver rhinestone heels to go along with it.  

She hoped she was going to “gag” Melody as Kaede would say.  

Sensing her anxiety, Lynn steps in front of her and gently places her hands on her shoulders.

“You got this. You are amazing and pretty and kind and down to earth and truly one of a kind.” Lynn says confidently.  “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

Mayu puts a hand on top of Lynn’s as she feels the reassurance working.

“Girl, she doesn’t watch baseball.” Kaede chuckles. “But, right.  You’re awesome Mayu.”

Kotone takes a few steps into the lit path and looks back at the group. “You ready to go get your girl?”

Mayu bites her lip and nods her head, her hands felt a little sweaty but it was now or never.  The more time she stalled, the more wasted minutes of not being with her person.

“You bet I am.  Let’s go!” Mayu says before linking arms with Lynn and Kaede who cheer in excitement.

The four of them march down the pathway with determination and the most confidence they had all collectively felt in a long while.  When they arrived at the entrance, there in front of it was a table where three people sat; likely security that was hired.  All three wore professional business attire and simple white masks.  Mayu was surprised to see that even the hired staff got the outfit memo.

“ID please?” the boy at the very right end asks lazily, holding his palm out.

Although a little caught off guard, Mayu unzips her purse and grabs her wallet then hands him her id.

“ID for what?” Mayu asks as the boy examines her id with a flashlight.

“There’s an open bar here.” he answers back, before handing it back.

Mayu thinks to herself of how bored he looked compared to the other two that sat with them.  She stepped closer to the open door and people watched for a few seconds.  Although everyone was dressed according to the theme, the inside was dimly lit.  Hundreds of students were dancing along to the beat of the music from the hired DJ.  The DJ’s booth was the biggest source of light as his spin table had LED lights all across.  Even he was wearing an appropriate outfit according to the masquerade.  At the far right of the event hall were several lines of students, seemingly waiting for something at what had to have been the bar set up.  Mayu looks behind her and makes eye contact with Kotone, who gives her a reassuring nod.

“Open bar you say?” Lynn asks as she’s next to be checked.

“Yup.” he says in English. “Have fun!”

“Thanks!”

Lynn joins Mayu as Kotone and Kaede get checked in just as quickly as he did with Mayu and Lynn.  Once inside, the cousins take small steps towards the center before a girl about Lynn’s height in a black dress and a bird-like mask appears before them.  Immediately upon arrival, Lynn gasps audibly loud and grabs both of her hands.  Mayu, Kotone and Kaede exchange looks with one another as the light bulbs in their heads go off.

“You look so pretty.” Lynn says in a dreamy-like state.

“You look even better,” the girl says with a confident smile. “I like the suit.  Like a lot.”

“Thank you hehe.” Lynn responds, swaying their hands back and forth.  She turns around to her older cousins with the cutest smile. “So this is my girlfriend.”

The girl presses her palms together and slightly bows her head with an equally cute smile.  The older cousins, feeling flustered and panicked at the respectful gesture that almost made them in a way feel way older than they actually are, mimic the girl.

“Hi.  I’m Sullin.”

“Hiii I’m Mayu.”

“Hello, I’m Kotone.”

“Hi.  I know.  I follow you on TikTok.” Kaede informs. “Big big fan.  I’m Kaede by the way.”

This information clearly catches her off guard as she hides her embarrassed chuckles with her hand.

“Thanks!  I appreciate the support and I’ll follow you back since you know, you’re my girlfriend’s cousin and all!”

Kaede’s eyes comically widen and she takes a big step to Sullin and grabs both of her hands.

“Dude.  That would be so fucking sick.”

“I like you already.” Sullin chuckles.

Kaede looks up to Lynn in the most serious manner. “Bro you better not fumble with her.”

Lynn makes a fist and puts it to her heart with her other hand behind her back, resembling the scout salute from Attack on Titan. 

“I will not!” Lynn shouts in a soldier-like manner.

In response Kaede pats her shoulders as if she were a general putting a soldier at ease.  Neither Mayu nor Kotone were phased by their antics.  But what surprised Mayu was that Sullin didn’t look surprised either, which only told her that the two had already gotten to know each other quite well.

Mayu feels her phone buzz in her hand and out of anticipation and instinct she unlocks her phone and reads it’s message.

luckyblackcat: im in the middle of the dance floor let me know when you’re here!  i’ll find you, what are you wearing?

Mayu feels her hands begin to nervously shake before she takes a deep breath.

satzulvr512: im wearing a white rabbit mask and a blue dress

luckyblackcat: you look really pretty

Mayu looks up from her phone in shock and frantically searches for her, as if she could easily spot her in the endless sea of people that occupied the space.

satzulvr512: you see me?

luckyblackcat: no but im sure you look stunning ;)

Mayu sighs and puts her phone back in her tiny little purse.  Before she steps off into the dance floor, she gives her cousins one last look.

“Keep your ringer on and we’ll keep ours on.  If anything happens, not that anything will,” Kotone says, putting her fingers up to make a small x. “We’ll come and get you out of here.  In the unlikely event that she’s a weirdo and it’s not working, shoot us a text.  We love you.”

Mayu smiles and feels like she’s about to tear up. “I love you guys too.  Here I go!”

“Here you go!  You got this girl!”

Mayu cautiously makes her way to the dance floor and awkwardly gets pushed around the further inside the crowd she gets.  Now she was an extrovert, being around lots of people was fun but right now felt a little hellish.  She starts to get a little annoyed with the amount of people shoulder checking her without acknowledgement of her existence.  This feeling is unpleasant and bitter and hits a nerve she didn’t know was still healing.  It makes her feel invisible and unseen.  Unappreciated and unknown.  Like everyone mattered in the world but she didn’t.  She looks helplessly around her with her eyes eventually leading on the DJ booth like a lighthouse in the dark.  But then she feels a light tap at her shoulder.

“May?  Satzu lover 512?” a soft, delicate voice asks from behind her.

Mayu feels a blooming warm feeling spread across her chest and turns around.  In the flashing lights stood a woman with the most captivating eyes she’d ever seen, hidden behind a black mask with cat ears.  But she’s seen these eyes before, definitely she’s seen them somewhere before.  The woman is also wearing a slim all black suit and tie, which was fitting for her username.  Her appearance was almost prince-like.  Mayu swallows a lump she didn’t know was there as she studies her face, unable to shake off the feeling that she definitely knows her somehow.  Still though, a sincere smile spreads across her face at the way the other woman looks at her with the same adoration.

“You… Wow.” Melody giggles. “I was right.  You look really pretty.”

Mayu can feel the warm feeling spread to her cheeks at the comment, feeling thankful that her mask and the fact that the event hall is so dimly lit, her blushing isn’t noticeable.

“Thank you…” She says shyly.

When they locked eyes again, the grin that Melody bore slowly faded away the longer she stared right into what felt like her soul.  There were hundreds of others dancing around them, but there they stood alone as if they were in their own little world.

“I’m sorry but I’m just gonna take off my mask…” Melody says softly. “I know it’s a masquerade and all but I want to see you without this thing on.”

Before Mayu could get a word out, Melody reaches behind her head and unties her mask.  Watching the woman before her eyes peel it off almost feels like she’s watching in slow motion and nearly does the same until the mask finally comes off.

Mayu’s heart feels like it drops to her feet, hell all the way through the ground and damn near the earth’s core.

Is this a joke…?

“Hi.  Also, my real name is Nakyoung.” she breathes before brushing back her hair with a hand. 

Mayu feels her world spinning because here she was, excited to meet the person she’d been yearning after for years now.  But it’s Nakyoung in front of her, the person she’s had a strong disdain for, for just about the same amount of time. 

“I… I know who you are….” Mayu croaks.

“Huh?  You do?”

There’s a feeling of dread that creeps in and scenarios begin playing out in her head.  Knowing Kim Nakyoung, this could only be something bad but she didn’t think she’d ever stoop this low and play with her feelings for years.  It makes her feel nauseous almost and her eyes begin to sting as she shakes her head in disbelief.

Their eyes meet again, but this time Nakyoung’s eyes on her feels different.  They’re fragile and caring, and honestly the softest she’s ever seen them.  Nakyoung looks at her with worry and the other woman reaches out to cup her face before stopping herself.

“You’re crying,” Nakyoung says sadly. “Whatever I did to you, I am so sorry.”

“You don’t know me?”

“Of course I do.  You’re May.  You’re one of my best friends.  I know exactly who you are and you know me.” Nakyoung says, putting a hand to her chest.

“Yeah.  I’ve heard a lot about you and I never thought you would go this far,” Mayu grunts angrily and begins to walk past Nakyoung. “This was a huge mistake.”

Mayu doesn’t make it a step too far before she feels Nakyoung grab onto her hand, stopping her in place.  She turns around when she feels how shaky Nakyoung’s hand is on hers.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but none of it is true,” Nakyoung says shakily.  “A lot of people talk about me.  ‘I dumped this girl, I was seen with this girl,  I’m a great kisser,’” She says in a mocking tone, progressively getting more fed up with each rumor. “‘ I’m a heart breaker, I’m a player’.  None of that is true.  It’s not who I am, it’s not the real me.  But you know the real me.”

Nakyoung’s eyes this time begin to get that glassy look, and it brings on a tidal wave of guilt that washes onto Mayu.  Although she’s never spread gossip about Nakyoung herself, she’s heard it all and believed every single one of them.  She assumed the worst in her and she can’t help but feel like the world’s biggest idiot and the world’s biggest jerk.  

“I’m being unreasonable.  I’m sorry.” Mayu apologizes, stepping closer to her.

Nakyoung shakes her head and pulls her in even closer. “It’s okay.  I get it though, I have a reputation around here.”

“Still I’m sorry.  It was wrong and just flat out mean.”

There’s a way that Nakyoung delicately rubs a thumb over her own hand, and she never thought she’d ever be this close.  She never thought she’d ever be so tender and so different with her.  Still, a small part of her wonders if it’s because Nakyoung thinks she’s someone else.

“Do you wanna take a walk outside with me?”

Mayu puts a hand on top of hers with a small nod.  She’s come all this way to meet her girl and honestly right at this moment, Nakyoung isn’t at all the person she’s known.  Without another word, Nakyoung leads her gently away from the crowd, making sure to block anybody from accidentally bumping into them.  

The other woman pushes doors at the back of the event space open and pulls them out into the night.  The door shuts behind them and the music is muffled now.  It was dark out, but the pathways were still dimly lit from the lamp posts.  Far into the distance was a white gazebo with green vines that wrapped around its wooden structure.  Nearby it was the pond that was a nice spot for students to have picnics by, and at the moment the home to the frogs and crickets that sang into the night sky.

To Mayu’s surprise it was just the two of them outside.  

Nakyoung drops her mask on the floor before leading them down the pathway slowly towards the gazebo.  She smiles at her in a way that makes Mayu feel undeserving to receive it.

“Let’s just start over.  You don’t have to take off your mask unless you want to, but…” Nakyoung comments. “You made it sound like we know each other already back there… Do we?”

“We do.” Mayu says with a nod of her head. “But… Maybe I will take off my mask.”

“Maybe?” Nakyoung smiles as she gently sways their hands back and forth.

Mayu feels her heart flutter in ways she never thought she’d feel with the way Nakyoung looks at her.  Everything feels so different now and that’s because it was.  Everything was different in a good way maybe. From elementary to middle school, she was the girl boys made asking out a dare, a bet.  A cruel joke, like she wasn’t real.  But right now, everything was beginning to feel like a fairy tale the further they walked down the path.

“Maybe.”

“Hmm okay, let’s play 20 questions.  If I can guess who you are, then maybe you take off your mask?”

“Maybe.” Mayu says playfully, making Nakyoung chuckle loudly.  It was magnetizing almost.

“Alright hmmm…” Nakyoung thinks out loud. “For starters you do actually go to Ewha, right?”

“Of course!” Mayu amusedly scoffs.

“Hey hey now, I’m just checking.  You never know with the internet and all.  You could’ve been a big old stinky smelly man.”

“What if I was hmm?”

“Well then it would kinda make you a stereotypical Sana and Tzuyu stan.” Nakyoung teases.

Mayu hits her shoulder playfully, making Nakyoung act dramatically as if she were really wounded.  Their hands stay together however, as if they were glued together.  Truthfully, Mayu doesn’t mind it.  She likes the feeling of Nakyoung’s soft hand holding hers.  

“You’re also an 02 right?”

“Mhmm, May 2002.”

Nakyoung hums satisfied and looks up to the sky for a few moments, trying to think of more relevant questions.

“Okay next question, have you ever gone to Zhou Xinyu’s parties?”

“No.  Too busy.”

“Too busy?”

“I work.”

“Ohhh okay hmm, so you have a job.  That doesn’t narrow it down at all but good to know that you could buy me a milkshake.”

“Now when did I say I’d do that?”

“I’ll buy you a milkshake too, of course.”

“What flavor would you get me?”

“Strawberry,” Nakyoung says confidently. “I’d get a big one and we’d share it while gazing into each other's eyes, lovingly.”

Mayu smiles at her with an eyebrow raised. “Have you thought about this before?”

“It’s possible!” Nakyoung says as they reach the gazebo.

Up close now, there’s little fairy lights that hang from the ceiling of the gazebo and around the wooden pillars along with the green leafy vines.  Mayu couldn’t help but feel like her environment felt like a fairy tale.  Here she was dressed like a princess, at a cute spot far away from others, with someone who found their way into her heart.

Nakyoung takes a small step on the small staircase and reaches for Mayu’s other hand.  She holds her hands in a way that makes Mayu feel like she actually was a princess.

“Do you like the way I look tonight?” Nakyoung asks shyly.

Mayu rolled her eyes but held the smile on her face.  She steps up onto the same step Nakyoung stood at and tilts her head to the side as she gives her a once over.  Seeing how Nakyoung visibly stiffens from her stare makes her feel proud of herself.

“I do.”

“Good.  I was going for a prince vibe.”

“Oh?  And why’s that?”

“Well one, I look good in a suit.  And two, I just knew you’d look like a princess.”

Nakyoung slowly leads them inside to the center of the gazebo, neither woman taking their eyes off of each other.  Inside, the light makes it easier for Mayu to study Nakyoung’s features.  It’s adorable how Nakyoung smiles so hard that her rosy tinted cheeks can only make her think of how perfect they would be to kiss.  It’s adorable with the way Nakyoung looks at her and she can’t believe again just how different everything feels.

Nakyoung extends a hand while putting one behind her back and dips her head low.

“May I have this dance?”

Mayu giggles but takes her hand anyway. “But there’s no music.”

Nakyoung kisses her hand and the action feels like it shoots lightning all throughout her body.

“Not a problem.” Nakyoung says before reaching into her pocket for her phone.  She quickly  picks out a song as if she had been waiting for this very moment and planned everything out.

The beginning piano keys of Make You Feel My Love softly play as Nakyoung puts her phone back in her pocket.  She raises their left hands together up in the air and hovers her other over Mayu’s lower back.  Nakyoung’s eyes flicker in unsureness before Mayu smiles and allows her hand to rest there, while Mayu’s other hand rests on Nakyoung’s shoulders.

The two of them begin dancing tenderly along to the song. 

“So, I don’t think I ever asked you this before but do you like to dance?”

“From time to time.”

“Is this your first time slow dancing with someone?” Nakyoung asks, with a hint of hopefulness that she would say no.

“I’ve slow danced with my grandpa but that’s about it.” Mayu answers, making the two of them laugh together.

“Me too.”

“Really?  But don’t you dance often?”

“I learn a lot of hip hop routines,” Nakyoung recalls. “But I’ve never danced with someone like this before.  Not counting how Xinyu made me practice with her a few days ago.”

“What do you mean she made you practice?” Mayu asks amused. 

“Okay well, I’m really close friends with Sohyun and by proximity Xinyu since they’re dating.  I told them about finally meeting you and Xinyu wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to step on your toes.”

Mayu purses her lips. “Well now that you say that…”

“Oh-”

“Kidding!”

They share a laugh again before Nakyoung twirls her around and pulls Mayu even closer to her.  Their lips were just a mere centimeters apart and Mayu can’t help but wonder how soft they would feel against hers. 

“Your eyes are so beautiful,” Nakyoung whispers. “I’ve really seen you before?”

“You have.”

“You’d think I’d remember eyes like yours.  Your eyes are so…” Nakyoung sighs and bites her lip. “Alluring.  I wanna kick myself right about now.”

“Well don’t do that,” Mayu says slowly. “But if you do get hurt, I’ll gladly take care of you.”

“Were you disappointed when you found out it was me?”

Now Mayu actually wants to kick herself.  When Nakyoung took off the mask, Mayu felt every emotion possible at once.  She was confused, scared and wanted to go home.  But now, she’s glad that she didn’t.

“I think I was more scared.”

“Scared?  Why?”

“I just thought that maybe you were playing a prank on me.  But now I see how totally wrong I was.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance to talk.”

“Thank you for stopping me from leaving.  It would have been a huge mistake.  Also if you wanted to leave after I made a scene I totally would’ve understood you.”

Nakyoung shakes her head. “No, because if I had done that, it would have been a huge mistake for me.  But it’s okay we’re here now aren’t we?”

“You’re right.”

“Are you glad you came here tonight?”

“I really really am.”

“Do you like me?”

“I really really do.”

“Did you know that I really really like you?”

“Hmm… I had a feeling but I wasn’t sure.” Mayu jokes.

Nakyoung chuckles, “I really really like you.”

Nakyoung’s eyes flicker between her own and her lips.  There’s something in her gaze that Mayu hasn’t seen before and she begins to understand how so many of their classmates are crazy about her.  She’s always found Nakyoung attractive. She couldn’t lie about that and right now, she feels herself falling into the enchantment that was Kim Nakyoung.

“Would it be okay if we-”

“Kiss?” Mayu blurts out, unable to take her eyes off of Nakyoung’s.

“Yeah.”

“It’s okay with me…If it’s okay with you.”

“More than okay.” Nakyoung whispers.

Mayu places her hands around Nakyoung’s waist as she feels her face being cradled by the other woman.  Nakyoung silently appreciates everything about her as if she was trying to remember every detail about her face like her life depended on it.

Mayu closes her eyes when Nakyoung leans in slowly, anticipating their lips meeting.  

But then her phone rings. 

Mayu’s eyes shoot open as Nakyoung drops her hands and backs away.

“Sorry, one second.” Mayu apologizes as she digs into her purse for her phone.

“It’s okay.  You should take it.  Might be important.”

The time was 12 o’clock right on the dot and Kotone’s smiling picture that lit up on her screen annoyed her a little.  But she knew they’d only be calling if something was wrong.

“Hello?”

“Dude we gotta go!” Kotone says in a rushed tone.

From the other end there’s a lot of movement that even Mayu can hear, and she can just barely make out the sound of someone wailing.

Mayu looks back up at Nakyoung panicked who now looks concerned seeing Mayu’s expressions.

“Is everything okay?”

“Long story short, Lynn got drunk, she got kicked out and now our Lyft is gonna be here in a minute.”

“What?!  Is she okay?!”

“I think she’s done throwing up but uh… She’s an emotional drunk and is crying for you.”

Mayu sighs. “Fuck man.  Okay give me a second, don’t go just yet!”

She hurriedly hangs up her phone and throws it back in her purse and zips it up messily.

“Is everything okay?” Nakyoung worriedly asks.

Mayu shakes her head. “My cousins got kicked out and I.  I’m sorry but I have to go.”

Maybe this happening to interrupt their kiss was a sign from the universe that Nakyoung and her weren’t meant to be more.  Part of her wants to stay and just dance with her a while longer but the other part of her knows she has to be there and take care of her little cousin.  Being the responsible older cousin just slightly outweighed kissing a pretty girl and god she wishes she didn’t even have to weigh it out.  But if she stayed, Mayu’s personal morals would feel like a sham. 

Mayu gives her a peck on the cheek before rushing out of the gazebo, leaving Nakyoung frozen on the spot with a hand to her cheek. The walk from their spot all the way to where her cousins were was going to be difficult to move through, especially with the dance still going on.

“Wait! But I didn’t finish asking all my questions!” Nakyoung calls out to her, still in place.  “I don’t even know who you actually are yet.”

Maybe it was a sign or maybe it was a bit of self sabotage, but Mayu could only think about getting to Lynn and making sure she’s okay.

“I’m sorry.” Mayu says weakly before running off.

She doesn’t hear Nakyoung run after her but doesn’t allow herself to think much of it as she runs as fast as possible through the pathway and to the doors.  She yanks the door open and throws herself back into the rocky ocean of students dancing to the loud music.  What she doesn’t know is that Nakyoung actually did begin running after her, but much later.

Instead of cutting through the crowd, Mayu runs a clear path to the side of the crowd.  She accidentally bumps into people along the way but eventually she speeds past the table at the entrance.  Her legs feel like they’re about to give out and her breathing pattern becomes inconsistent, but she pushes further.

Then at the end of the pathway and in the light of the street lamps are her cousins and Sullin.  There on the curb, sat Kotone and Kaede, comforting Lynn who was still loudly crying.She feels a small sense of relief before she registers a black suv slowly rolling in and parking in front of them.

“I’m here!” Mayu says in between wheezes as she hunches over, attempting to catch her breath.

Kotone and Kaede look up in relief and help raise Lynn up from her spot.  Kotone checks her phone, making sure they got the right driver in front of them and goes to open the car door.  Kaede and Sullin gently push Lynn towards Mayu as Kotone steps inside the car.  Mayu opens her arms for a hug before Lynn shrieks and backs away into Sullin.

“WHO ARE YOU?!” Lynn asks, scared.

“It’s me Mayu!” Mayu answers in disbelief.

“NO YOU’RE NOT!  MAYU ISN’T HALF RABBIT!”

“Oh brother…” Kaede groans before leaving for the car.

Mayu looks at Sullin confused, “What happened?”

“She drank three AMF’s in a row.” Sullin answers, rubbing Lynn’s arms. “Lynn babe, that is Mayu.  She’s here now.”

Lynn looks at her shocked. “OH SO NOW YOU’RE LYING TO ME?!”

Mayu drops her head, truly in disbelief that this was a real situation happening right now.

“Do you mind if I spend the night?” Sullin asks. “I wanna help take care of her too.”

“Sure, get in the car,” Mayu sighs. “I got this.”

Sullin nods her head and runs to the car, now leaving just Mayu and Lynn alone.  She doesn’t regret leaving Nakyoung if it meant making sure Lynn was okay, it’s just this whole thing truly felt ridiculous.  With another big sigh, Mayu unties her mask and presents it to Lynn.

“See it is me, just a mask.  I’m here now.”

“OH MA GOD MAYUUUU!!” Lynn balls her eyes out and pulls her in for a bear hug.

The abrupt and forceful hug makes Mayu accidentally drop her mask on the ground as Lynn rocks her from side to side.

“I’M SO SORRY!”

“It’s okay sweetie.”

“Guys, get in the car now please!” Kotone calls out from the window.

Mayu stops Lynn and drags her to the car with all the strength she has left, doing her best to calm her down.  She never thought that Lynn would be the emotional drunk type.  Once inside the car, Lynn latches onto Mayu as soon as she slams the door shut.  The driver takes it as a signal to begin driving back to their apartment.

Mayu pets Lynn’s head when Lynn shuts her eyes and rests her head on her shoulder.

“Sorry we had to call you.” Kotone says from the passenger seat.

“It’s okay.  Technically this was an emergency, so.” Mayu dismisses.

“So how was it? Did you find Melody?” Kaede asks, trying to lighten the mood.

“I did… Turns out Melody is Nakyoung.”

“HUH?!”

“COME AGAIN?!”

“Who’s Melody and who’s Nakyoung…” Sullin innocently asks.

“It’s a long story, we’ll explain when we’re home.” Kotone answers.

“Did she find out who you are?” Kaede questions excitedly.

“No…”

“Oh…”

“It’s okay.  Maybe she’ll forget all about me.”

“Come on dude don’t say that.”

Nakyoung ran the fastest she’s ever ran in her life, and briefly thought she could’ve caught her if it weren’t for a few random girls trying to stop her for a dance.  They just had to stop her and get in her way.  She sees a black suv far down the street, just as she runs out of the pathway and onto the curb.  She looks around helplessly before realizing that the suv must’ve had her in it.  Feeling defeated, she drops her head low.

“Fuck!” Nakyoung screams.

But then she sees something a few feet away from her on the ground, a reminder of her.  It was her mask that she wore earlier.  She slowly walks towards it and picks it up from the ground, playing with the details of it.  She can’t believe she didn’t run after her sooner.

“I’ll find you.”