Work Text:
The noise of the party was gradually fading away in the cottage backyard. Nayeon's drunken singing was being drowned out by Jeongyeon's stern attempts to get her to bed. Nearby, Jihyo was finishing the last of her whiskey while continuing to lecture Heechul. As they gathered the remaining trash, Mina and Sana giggled while watching every intoxicated creature at the party. Even Jackson, who had volunteered to help, had collapsed onto the floor without any signs of consciousness.
What had been the occasion for all of this?
A word Dahyun was afraid to say out loud.
Yet here, beneath the moonlight in the backyard and completely alone, wasn't this the perfect time to admit it to herself?
Her hands began to burn. A tremor—small enough to escape anyone else's notice—shot through her body like an electric shock. She didn't want to think about it.
Not now, when her heart had started beating in that strange, uneven rhythm again. And it wasn't because of the alcohol. She had been one of the few people who stopped after only a couple of drinks and simply enjoyed the evening. Music, dancing, laughter, games, friends, the person she loved—everything a person needed to be happy. So why did it hurt so much now, at the very end?
Of course, she knew the answer. Fate had decided to remind her, tearing down the congratulatory poster Tzuyu had taped to the wall as a joke.
Japan 2 – Korea 0.
One Korean lost both an arm and a heart through a marriage proposal.
Like the final traces of despair, the paper slowly soaked through as it drifted across the pool, sinking beneath the surface.
"Did you run away just to avoid helping your girlfriend?" a quiet voice asked from behind her, accompanied by the rustle of grass. The hint of amusement in it dissolved beneath the gentle sound of the water.
"Maybe. Looking for a hiding place too?" Kim replied without even turning around, instantly recognizing the voice.
"I want to hide. I've heard you're one of the best people when it comes to disappearing without anyone noticing," the other woman answered, a trace of hurt lingering beneath her words.
Perhaps Momo shouldn't have invaded someone else's personal space so shamelessly, dropping down beside Dahyun at the edge of the pool. Then again, it was her party, even if it was being held at Mina and Chaeyoung's house. That gave her certain rights. The same right to know important things before hearing them from someone who was drunk.
"Well, if you already know, then I guess I'm not as good at hiding things as I thought," Dahyun said, lightly brushing her fingertips against the surface of the water.
"I wish I'd known sooner. Sana said you've been planning the move for a month, but you never told me."
What was so fascinating about that water that Dahyun stared at it with such devotion? Momo wished she knew. In truth, she had accumulated far too many questions about this woman over the years. How did she keep her skin so flawless? What was so interesting about the books she could spend entire days reading? Why hadn't she said anything about moving to the United States with Sana? Why did Momo's heart beat so hard whenever they hugged? Why couldn't Dahyun look at her the way she looked at the moon's reflection in the water?
The reflection held both of them. Side by side, separated by nothing more than the distance of a bent arm. A distance that had always existed between them. And no matter how badly Momo wanted to close it, she no longer could. Not now, when Dahyun seemed so happy with Sana. Not now, when she herself had already said yes to Heechul. But some desires refused to be let go.
Her porcelain skin was captivating. The moonlight only made her more beautiful. Her eyes, small and gentle, reminded Momo of Dobby and Boo—perhaps they were even prettier. A hundred times prettier. The neat curve of her nose occasionally twitched from the chill of the night breeze. Perfect. And her lips. Soft and pink, like clouds at sunset over Kyoto. Momo wondered how often Sana had tasted them. Would it be strange to ask her best friend a question like that about her girlfriend?
"Sana came up with the idea. But I don't mind if it'll make her happy. My career won't suffer because of it, after all," Dahyun said with a nod, never taking her eyes off the moon reflected in the water. "I thought it would be better if she told you herself. You and Sana were friends long before I ever became part of your lives."
For the first time in a long while, silence wasn't frightening. In fact, it had stopped frightening Momo the moment she first met Dahyun. She was the perfect embodiment of silence—the kind that drew you into a world of calm and comfort without asking for anything in return.
Though, on that particular day, Dahyun hadn't been especially quiet.
February 15th, 2014. A date Sana had marked on her calendar and celebrated every year with grand romantic adventures was just as important to Momo. That was the day Momo, Sana, and Mina first met Dahyun and Chaeyoung. Two strange yet captivating teenage girls who managed to hold their attention for years to come. The day Momo's heart first showed signs of life beyond its ordinary rhythm.
"I never congratulated you," Dahyun finally broke the silence after several minutes, flicking droplets of water from her fingertips so they scattered across the moon's reflection.
"Sana gave me your present. The rice cooker is actually really useful. We don't even have furniture in the new house yet, let alone a kitchen, and..." Momo hurried to reassure her, only to be interrupted when Dahyun's hand came to rest against her wrist.
"That's not what I meant." Finally lifting her gaze to meet Momo's, Dahyun gently brushed her thumb across her skin. "You're a fiancée now, so congratulations on the new title. I hope you'll be happy with Heechul. He's a good guy."
Was Heechul a good guy? Without question. With him, Momo felt like a queen. Doors were opened for her, chairs were pulled out before she sat down, things around the house were always taken care of, and financial security was never a concern. The perfect boyfriend. The ideal husband. That was how all of their friends described him, usually with a hint of envy. Their parents had approved of the relationship from the very beginning.
Did Momo need the perfect boyfriend? Yes. It was better for her future. A future where she had already accepted the absence of real feelings. Because the person who made her heart spiral into chaos was happy with her best friend and was currently warming her hand with the gentlest touch.
"I think you're right," Momo replied thoughtfully, unable to take her eyes off where their skin met. "He tries very hard to make me happy."
"I hope he really does." Dahyun nodded and reluctantly let go of her wrist.
The wind returned. The same wind that had been blowing the first time Dahyun truly noticed Momo's beauty. Beneath the moonlight behind some rundown club, where three Japanese girls had drunk far too much and needed help getting home. That night, Sana had been dropped off first, having fallen asleep before they were even halfway there. Mina was next, with Chaeyoung staying behind to make sure she got inside safely. Which left Dahyun with the task of driving Momo home.
In truth, it had been one of their first genuine conversations. With the quiet hum of the radio filling the car, they talked about everything and nothing at all. At first, Momo explained the reason behind their drunken adventure, but before long the conversation drifted somewhere entirely unexpected. History. Biology. Philosophy. To be honest, Dahyun had never expected such a breadth of knowledge from her. She found herself staying unusually quiet, afraid that speaking might interrupt Momo's train of thought. There was something undeniably beautiful about intelligence.
"Look, you can see Mars tonight," Momo suddenly said, pointing toward a red dot in the sky. "The opposition period started today."
Another fact Dahyun never would have expected to hear. Turning toward the sound of her voice, she found herself caught in Momo's gaze for a brief moment before finally looking up at the planet. A distant planet. A completely insignificant planet.
"Would you want to go there someday?" Momo asked without taking her eyes off the night sky, as though she were genuinely considering the possibility.
"I think by the time that's possible, I'll be an old grandma missing half her teeth. They don't take people like that," Dahyun replied with a quiet laugh, continuing to stare at the distant planet.
"I'd take you with me."
The words slipped out before Momo could stop them. She faltered slightly, biting her lip at the unexpected confession, but eventually forced herself to continue.
"Would you run away to Mars with me?"
"I'm afraid your fiancé wouldn't appreciate that," Dahyun replied, playing along with the joke while swallowing the bitterness that threatened to surface. "And Sana would worry."
Their best friend. Her girlfriend. The person who brought light into every room she entered, radiating warmth, kindness, and love. The most precious thing either of them could have asked for. It felt wrong to feel anything when Sana was right there.
But what if things had happened differently?
What if Dahyun hadn't been too afraid to approach Momo? What if she hadn't been so careful not to damage the fragile connection between them? What if she hadn't been scared of showing too much interest? What if she had never agreed to go on that first date with Sana? What if her conscience hadn't been persistent enough to convince her to date someone out of pity and affection rather than love?
They would never know.
"You're right. I'm not cruel enough to steal you away from the person you love," Momo practically swallowed the words as the sharp edges of the truth carved themselves deeper beneath her skin.
"I knew I'd find you two here."
Sana's voice carried an ease that felt painfully out of place against the weight that instantly settled somewhere beneath Momo's ribs. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Sana made her way down the damp grass toward the pool, a jacket draped over one arm. Heechul followed behind her, yawning lazily and rubbing the back of his neck. The perfect combination of people to finally put an end to all of this.
"You disappeared a little too quietly," Heechul laughed as he stopped beside his fiancée. "I was starting to think aliens had abducted you."
"Then Dahyun definitely would've gone with them," Momo replied with a faint smile, never taking her eyes off the water.
Without even paying attention to the conversation, Sana hummed softly and settled down beside Dahyun as naturally as if she had always belonged there. Her shoulder brushed against Dahyun's, and moments later their fingers intertwined. It looked right. Exactly as it should.
"I'm staying to help Mina clean up. Will you head home early without me?" she sighed, absentmindedly stroking the back of Dahyun's hand with her thumb. "You have to be up at five tomorrow, and you still haven't finished packing."
"I have," Dahyun answered automatically, though her luggage was the last thing on her mind tonight.
"Halfway," Sana corrected with a gentle smile. "I'll bring the rest later. I just don't want you needing anything during those two weeks without me."
Two weeks.
The numbers tangled themselves together in Momo's mind as she calculated the date of her wedding and those two weeks. Somehow, they aligned perfectly.
Dahyun would leave before Sana.
She wouldn't even stay for the wedding.
Heechul was still talking about the incident with the broken grill, one arm draped possessively around his fiancée's shoulders, but Momo barely heard a word. She nervously bit the inside of her lip, her attention fixed elsewhere.
Dahyun wouldn't be there.
No brief glances from across the room. No accidental encounters. No laughing together at Nayeon's speech. No Chaeyoung dragging everyone into something ridiculous.
None of it.
Something inside Momo dropped unpleasantly at the realization, as though the ground beneath her feet had vanished for a moment. For some reason, the thought sounded far more terrifying than it should have. For some reason, she suddenly wanted to cry.
"Hey, Heechul."
Chaeyoung's voice suddenly called out as she appeared in the terrace doorway.
"You promised to help me with the projector. If Mina turns on karaoke without fixing the settings again, the neighbors are going to call the police."
"I didn't touch anything!" Mina's offended voice immediately echoed from somewhere inside the house.
"Sana-unnie, could you help us revive Jackson?" Chaeyoung asked as she made her way toward the pool. She lowered her voice as if sharing a state secret. "I'm afraid that if we leave a corpse on the living room carpet, my beloved girlfriend is going to make me sleep next to it."
"Well, looks like they can't manage without us," Sana laughed softly, adjusting the collar of Dahyun's sweater. "If you get cold, come inside. There's nothing wrong with saying goodbye one more time."
"We'll come out with Mina to walk you to your car," Chaeyoung nodded, holding her best friend's gaze a little too intently. "I think you'll only have to wait another five minutes."
Did Chaeyoung really need those two specifically in a house full of guests? Dahyun wouldn't have believed it for a second. And yet she was overwhelmingly grateful. Grateful that her friend had once again found a way to give her more time. Just a few extra minutes. The few minutes she desperately needed. Because Chaeyoung knew.
Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance behind them. Another excited shriek from Nayeon echoed through the cottage. It sounded as though the party was trying to come back to life again. But the pool remained where it was, stubbornly refusing to let go of everything left unsaid.
For some reason, guilt prickled beneath Dahyun's skin. As if she should have told Momo sooner. Warned her the moment she and Sana had made the decision. But why? Momo was Sana's friend first, wasn't she? Neither of them knew the answer, even if neither had ever asked the question.
"So that means you won't get to see me in the dress?" Momo finally asked, still trying to process everything she had learned.
The engagement party was becoming the most painful memory of her life. And that wasn't right. Yet her heart continued to bleed.
"I already did. Sana showed me pictures." The corners of Dahyun's lips lifted into a small smile as the memory surfaced. "I'm sorry I won't be there for the wedding."
"It looks better in person," Momo sighed as she rose from her seat, fighting the sudden urge to run to the nearest bathroom and cry under the excuse of food poisoning. "Did you like it?"
"It was made for you," Dahyun nodded, getting to her feet as well. "I probably should've told you sooner."
Somewhere inside the house, Mina burst into laughter, immediately followed by Chaeyoung's offended voice. Life continued moving forward as if nothing had happened, but here by the pool, time seemed trapped within these last few minutes. Suddenly, Momo was terrified of going back inside. Terrified that Dahyun would leave and that would be it. The end. But that was how things were supposed to be.
"I should probably go back inside," Momo said awkwardly, avoiding Dahyun's eyes as though her entire life hadn't just fallen apart brick by brick. "Will you text me when you land?"
Dahyun didn't answer immediately. As though the question demanded everything she had left. But her thoughts were somewhere else entirely. A hug. That was all she wanted. To feel that warmth one last time. To hold onto the person whose memory she would carry for the rest of her life. Of course they would meet again, and many times at that, but it would never be the same.
During that silence, Momo had already started to turn away automatically, as if she were trying to save the moment from becoming what it was threatening to become. But she couldn't make herself leave.
And as though some tiny genie passing by had decided to grant both of their wishes at once, the distance between them disappeared. Momo felt the warmth of Dahyun's shoulder, the slightly damp fabric of her clothes, the steady rhythm of her breathing. Everything about it was painfully ordinary, and somehow that made it unbearable. It was as though her mind was deliberately memorizing every detail so it would never be able to forget. At first, Dahyun's arms settled around her carefully, almost hesitantly, as if she still wasn't sure she had the right to hold on for this long.
Just two seconds.
Such a small amount of time, yet it felt as though Dahyun managed to memorize everything. The warmth she was given. The strength of Momo's arms around her. The scent of her perfume, which she now had every right to hate.
"If I remember," Kim replied as she pulled away, avoiding Momo's eyes until the very last second.
With a small nod, Momo left behind nothing but the quiet sound of her footsteps moving through the grass. It was enough. Enough to bring an end to a story that had never truly stood a chance, but one they would remember more than once. And even if Dahyun wanted to watch her leave, to steal a few more fragments for her memories, a familiar voice pulled her attention away.
"We managed to revive Jackson, so now we can walk you to your car," Chaeyoung announced, throwing an arm around her friend's shoulders as though trying to distract her from something important. "Sana and Mina are waiting for us by the gate."
A few minutes later, Dahyun was standing beside the car, just a little away from the open door, as though she still hadn't fully accepted that this was really happening. The air was cool now, and after the warmth of the evening by the pool, it felt almost sharp. Too real.
This time, even Mina's hug lasted too long. As though everything around them was reminding her that life had become something entirely different. Chaeyoung, meanwhile, was holding herself together remarkably well, only giving her best friend a gentle pat on the back. But Dahyun noticed the look she shot toward Sana, the way her eyes narrowed slightly, as though she was entrusting her with something precious.
The story had ended at this cottage. Perhaps she would return to it a few more times in her memories, but with a different heart. One she would have to piece back together herself. After all, maybe this move wasn't only an opportunity for Sana. Maybe it was one for her as well.
Soon Mina and Chaeyoung disappeared back inside the house. Now Dahyun was alone with her girlfriend, who was slowly arranging the gifts and leftovers in the trunk of their car. Sana herself planned to get home by taxi a few hours later, which meant she couldn't afford to leave everything for her future self to deal with.
"Your breathing was different again tonight," Sana remarked while carefully arranging the jars of jam Mina's mother had sent with them. "Momo doesn't like hugs. Don't tell her."
"Tell her what?" Dahyun asked, struggling to follow the slightly disconnected train of thought while immediately tensing at the mention of a third person.
"That you're in love with her too," Sana replied with a quiet snort as two jars knocked against each other. She immediately moved them to opposite corners of the trunk so they wouldn't accidentally break.
"Why would you think that—"
"Please," Minatozaki whispered, finally closing the trunk. "I don't think I'd survive losing both of you at once."
Dahyun let out a quiet breath, as though only now allowing herself to fully absorb the words. Then she stepped closer, as naturally as she always did when they reached the point where words were no longer necessary.
Sana responded immediately.
Without hesitation.
The kiss was warm, brief, and effortless, the sort of kiss shared between people who had long since become part of each other's everyday lives. As natural as wishing someone good morning. As ordinary as accidentally running into each other in the hallway of the apartment they shared.
When she pulled away, her hand settled calmly over Dahyun's. She squeezed once, held it for a second, and let go. Nothing dramatic. Just a quiet reminder that the conversation was over and that they were still standing in the same reality.
"Let's go home," Sana said softly, as though nothing else needed to be explained.