HERE'S YOUR PERFECT | Chapter 6: What Is Love?

 

< Go back to Chapter 5 >

After eating the food Momo brought and doing some cleaning in her own apartment, Sana went out to buy groceries. Nothing fancy for full set meals, but food that can be stored and are easy to prepare. After loading those in her car, she went out shopping for clothes as she realized most of her clothes are at Momo’s since she spends so much time staying there. Of course, it’s easy to state all that, but it takes hours to accomplish as a girl. By the time Momo texted her to check on her, it was already evening.

Sana texted Momo back that she’d be dropping by the cafe where she’s a regular customer to get her favorite drink and something to eat after dropping off what she bought. Momo said she’d drop by but not order anything for her.

When Sana arrived, she was greeted at the counter by an unfamiliar face.

“Uhm, hello. I’ll have the—”

“Grapefruit Honey Black Tea, coming up. Any of the pastries you wish to try?” The pimply young man with a lopsided grin asked her.

“How did you know my order?” Sana wondered aloud. “I haven’t seen you here before. Uh, I guess I’ll take two croissants.”

The guy kept grinning at her while processing her order.

“I was just asked to take over for a while here at the counter. I usually work at the back.”

That still did not answer Sana’s question. There was something off-putting with the way he knowingly smirks.

“I will throw in a free chocolate cookie as well. You liked these, huh?” the guy said while putting it in a brown bag. “My shift is ending in about five minutes. I can hang around for a while with you. A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be left all alone, you know?”

Again with the smirk. 

Such an arrogant creep! Sana thought.

“My orders are to go. I won’t be hanging around.” Sana said.

The young man’s grin faltered, and he momentarily stopped the preparation of Sana’s drink. His cheeks flushed red, making his pimples appear more inflamed.

“Aww, don’t be like that, girlie. I just want us to be friends. You should be even flattered because I paid so much attention to you even if I worked at the back. Girls like men knowing their faves, right? Not all girls deserve that much attention,” his tone was friendly, but his eyes were cold and angry. “You have a boyfriend?”

Sana stared at him defiantly, then lied, “A girlfriend, actually.” 

“What? I don’t believe you. No girl would ever be satis—”

The return of his colleague cut him off.

“Okay, Josh. You may go now. Adios, and please don’t come back. Go surrender your ID now with the manager, or else you won’t get your final pay.”

The guy called Josh balled up his apron and threw it at him.

“Sorry, you had to witness that, miss. I had to step out for a while to sort things out with the manager because of a mess he made.”

He was the barista Sana was familiar with.

“That’s okay. No harm, no foul. Oh, I also asked for take-outs,” Sana said.

She texted Momo briefly before leaving about meeting a creep and that she'd be transferring to a different food shop nearby to wait for her. Little did she know that Josh was waiting for her right beside the shop she got out from.

“Come here!” Josh grabbed her and dragged her further into the darker part of the alley, holding her mouth shut. She dropped the food she was holding.

“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?” Josh pinned her to the wall and held her mouth closed. Sana tried unsuccessfully to pry his hand away. She attempted to kick him in the shin, but he was stronger and faster than he appeared. All she could do was try to shout yes, I do against his hand in full defiance.

Josh looked at her in disgust. “If that’s true — then you’re nothing but rotten goods!”

He let go of her forcefully and ran. Sana bounced off the wall, lost her balance, then hit her head on the metal dumpster.

Sana tried to stand up, but her vision blurred. She looked at the ground, thinking she must have spilled some of her drink before collapsing.

She was too disoriented to notice that it wasn’t her Grapefruit Honey Black Tea — it was blood.

-

Momo was waiting for her right in front of the food shop Sana had texted about. Momo became concerned after a few minutes and decided to check out the first shop Sana visited. Something on the ground right at the small alley before the store caught her eye just as she was about to enter the front door.

It was a spilled beverage with a brown paper bag next to it. While taking another step, Momo wondered what happened to it when she noticed movement further down the dark alley. She took a cautious step toward it. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a familiar figure lying on the ground.

Momo dashed to Sana's side and yelled for assistance.

-

Sana was released from the hospital after undergoing some tests. Fortunately, it was only a minor concussion, but it left an open wound that must be cleaned and bandaged regularly. According to the doctor, as it heals, it will appear nastier than it is dangerous. He also warned of headaches and dizziness, for which he prescribed medication.

Momo took the poor girl to her apartment and nursed her back to health. Momo told Sana during her recovery period that she thought it would be better just to tell everyone that they're an official couple. After the Josh incident, Sana agreed that it might be for the best.

It wasn't a difficult transition for those close to them because their common friends assumed they were a couple from the start without bothering to ask directly, and neither of them ever denied it.

To start with, it was convenient because none of them wanted to go into detail about their history and how they got there. So, for the sake of peace and keeping things quiet, they let people think whatever they want.

It stung a little, knowing it wasn't the way she wanted things to go in order to get there, but it made sense for them to forego the label, even if only for appearance's sake.

After two weeks, Sana was completely healed. She's back to her usual upbeat demeanor, as well as her voracious appetite.

One afternoon, Sana was busy catching up with all the work she left behind when Momo entered the room.

“Nayeon texted me. She wants to go out for drinks later. Are you up for it?”

“Sure! I’m going stir crazy staying cooped up for too long. Where?"

“She said at Sowon’s club, around 8 PM.”

-

It wasn't difficult to locate Nayeon. Always the life of the party, looking for her in the center would not let you down. It wasn't hard to tell she was already far too inebriated because she was giggling uncontrollably and shouting words to excite the crowd.

“What took you guys so long? I was alone,” she complained while pumping her fist along with the beat of the blaring music.

They drank a few shots with Nayeon and had fun on the dance floor. Time passed by faster, yet the crowd’s energy seemed to elevate even more.

After all the dancing and laughing they did, the pair decided to sit for a while. That was when Sana started to feel eyes trained on her. She looked around and found the source of her uneasiness. A disgustingly familiar lopsided grin flashed her way from the other side of the dance floor.

When she saw Josh, Sana tensed. She told Momo who she had seen, and a look of concern flashed across her face. Sana described Josh to her covertly to not encourage him if he thought they were talking about him. It was pointless to inform Nayeon because she was far too drunk, dancing the night away with her friend Sowon, the club's owner.

Momo saw the guy make his way toward them. She had to think fast.

Without missing a beat, Momo tucked Sana’s hair at the back of her ear, traced her fingers down Sana’s neck, then cupped the back of her head — and went in to connect both their lips.

At the back of Sana’s mind, she already sensed Momo was going to do that the moment she tucked her hair; she was physically ready. But mentally and emotionally, she was not.

They have kissed before, but maybe it’s the alcohol doing its thing, unleashing a loud noise inside her head that sounded much like silence.

Funny how the absence of sound could be so deafening.

Sana’s grip faltered and the martini glass she was holding slipped, then shattered. The breaking glass made a few people look their way, and the attention they earned made Josh stop on his tracks and retreat bitterly.

It was a long, languid kiss. At first, Sana was scared of the now-forgotten guy. But after a few seconds of kissing Momo, it felt like all the alcohol was flushed out of her system, only to be replaced with a different type of drunkenness.

It was already past 3 in the morning when she halted her make-out session with Momo. She helped the girl up from her seat and went to find Nayeon. Sana found her passed out by the counter, so she took the groggy Momo there too. As she props Momo on the chair opposite their drunken friend, when she turned around, she saw that someone was by Nayeon’s side already.

It can’t be.

“Nayeon, let’s go.”

She knew the voice. She knew the face. She knew her all too well that it hurts.

“She’s with us,” Sana managed to say.

Mina looked at her unfazed.

Fucking cold, Mina. So damn cold. Sana thought.

“I’m responsible for taking her home,” Mina said firmly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking her home.”

When Sana saw Mina looking past her, she stepped sideways to block Momo from her view.

“She came with us. She’ll go home with us.”

“What are you to Nayeon?” Mina asks through gritted teeth.

Sana looked at Mina, pain coursing through her alcohol-infused blood.

I‘m Nayeon’s friend, Mina. That, at least, I’m sure of. But what am I to you? I don’t know what I am to Momo, too. How do you, of all people, let go of me?

Sana’s pain flared into anger, “We’re her friends. What are you to Nayeon?” Sana questioned Mina with an accusing tone. “Who are you to take her home?”

“That doesn’t matter. She texted me to pick her up.” Mina steadied Nayeon by the waist and started walking.

“No.” Sana blocked Mina.

“God, Minatozaki! Just move.”

Sana eventually relented. It was too much for her, and her tired, intoxicated body couldn’t take all the memories and emotions that came flooding back.

She looked at Nayeon and Mina’s departing figures.

How is it so easy for you to walk away from me, Mina? How could you?

-

After the unexpected encounter with Mina, Sana felt like shit. She couldn’t even unload this information and process it with the help of Momo since that would only complicate things for her.

Hurt and guilt mingled like a potent potion she couldn't drink. She was aware that she should have said something to Momo. After all, that's why they went to Korea in the first place: to find Mina.

But it pained her so much that Mina was able to leave her behind just like that. Not to mention the dilemma of falling in love with Momo. 

In her desire to find any kind of escape from her current predicament, she went out on a mission — she’s finally going to look for the girl in pink.

Sana went out to find the barbecue joint. She was about to give up after a few wrong turns when she heard music from somewhere ahead. She laughed to herself as she followed the sound and recognized the acoustic version of Baby Shark. When she walked in, the server recognized her right away.

“Welcome back,” he smiled warmly. “May I take your order?”

“I guess I’ll order tangsuyuk again, but instead of coffee, make it a bottle of soju,” Sana smiled back. “Is she up on the roof deck?” she asked to make sure.

“Yes. She usually finishes her set around this time. Onwards, she spends it chilling and playing whatever she likes.”

“Make it two bottles of soju, then.” Sana thanked the server and made her way to the stairs. 

When she got to the last step and turned around, she saw a girl in a black leather jacket with her back to her.

When the girl heard a movement from behind, she turned. Sana saw the familiar face with different hair color. 

“You came back,” the pink-haired girl said in barely a whisper, smiling.

They both took several steps forward, closing the gap until they met halfway and embraced. 

“I don’t know why I did this,” Sana said, giggling but not letting go.

“Me neither!” the girl answered.

Simultaneously, they started counting up to twenty. When they reached twenty, they finally let go and looked at each other. No other words were uttered. They settled on a nearby table and started to get comfortable.

“How have you been?” the pink-haired girl asked.

“I can’t say I was doing well — but now I am. How about you?” Sana replied.

“Same,” the girl said, and they looked at each other for a few seconds, grinning. “You know, it’s been bothering me for weeks, but I forgot to ask for your name.”

Sana doesn’t know why but she keeps laughing silly over little things while she’s around her.

“Sana. My name is Sana—”

“Oh, really? Wow!”

Sana was about to say something but totally forgot because of the girl’s reaction, “What? Why, wow?”

“Well, during one gig when I was still with my band partner, we got to hang out with this girl from the Philippines, and she taught us a few words,” she recalled. “One of them was sana, which to them meant I wish or I hope. I remembered it because I thought it was lovely.”

“And to finally come across the personification of the beautiful word did not disappoint.” She continued. “Because I was presented with a woman as beautiful as its meaning.”

Sana was at a loss for words. She blushed profusely, looking everywhere except the girl beside her. The pink girl cackled at Sana’s helplessness. Thankfully, the server chose that moment to deliver the food. He carried an extra dish, as it was the pink girl’s order.

Before the other girl could say things that would further embarrass Sana, she asked whatever came to mind.

“So, what was your band called?” Sana blurted.

The girl was in the middle of stuffing a hefty serving of food in her mouth, so she had to chew for a while before she got to answer, “Pink Two Lips.”

“Pink Tulips?”

“No, no — Pink Two Lips. Like, your lips and mine.” 

They automatically looked at each other’s lips, realized what they did, then looked away. They proceeded in consuming the food and soju in comfortable silence. After a few drinks in, the pink girl spoke up:

“My former bandmate, I used to think we were endgame.”

Sana was surprised by the sudden revelation but, at the same time, curious. So she said nothing and waited for the girl to continue.

“As it turned out, we loved differently. I mean, yes, we loved each other — but we wanted different things in life. If there’s anything I learned in that relationship, it’s that you need to seek love that’s similar to yours, or you’d end up loving each other from parallel universes.” She paused with a faraway look in her eyes. “It will never meet in the middle. You’d just end up looking at each other from the other side of the road. Always 10 feet apart, looking at each other but walking on different paths that will never come together.”

Sana was taken aback. The precision and relatability of what the girl said were on the spot for her. She looked at the pink girl beside her, amazed.

“I weirded you out, didn’t I?” she laughed, stealing a shy glance at Sana. “I sometimes do that when I’m with someone I’m comfortable with. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be… it was generous of you to share that, and I’m thankful,” Sana assured her. “Who knew that a girl as talented and pretty as you could also be as warm?”

The girl’s cheeks turned to a shade similar to her hair.

“To be honest, I find myself in a somewhat similar position as the one you described. So in a way, it helped a lot in putting things into perspective.”

“Well, then, I’m glad it had that effect.” the pink-haired girl said. “But, Sana—”

“Hm?”

“I hope you don’t settle for someone who thinks of you as a maybe, when somewhere out there, you are someone’s wish come true.”

Sana tried real hard not to blush, but she was chewing a big chunk of food like a cute hamster heartily. To her relief, the other girl went on to chomp on a mouthful of food too, like a chipmunk.

They smiled at each other, trying hard not to laugh in fear of spitting out food.

Once they were done eating, it was time to say goodbye. The pink-haired girl spoke first.

“Let me walk you home.” she ventured.

“That won’t be necessary — but I would love that,” Sana replied.

The walk was shorter than Sana remembered and warmer, it seemed. When they arrived in front of Sana’s apartment building, she remembered what she was about to say earlier.

“Oh!”

“What?”

“I forgot to ask your name!” Sana exclaimed.

The girl chuckled lightly. “I’m curious — what did you call me inside your head whenever I crossed your mind?” She stepped closer to Sana.

“Hmm, that is, if I ever did think of you, yes?” Sana said teasingly. “The Pink Girl. Or if you leave now without telling me your name again, I might refer to you as a flower, Pink Tulips.”

The girl scrunched up her face as if thinking. “Those are not bad,” she said. “And as Shakespeare once said in one of his plays, what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Whatever you wish to call me, it would still be me. Plus, I’d answer to any other name you decide to call me, as long as it’s you.”

They were both smiling at each other, neither of which breaking eye contact.

“Aww, that’s sweet,” Sana said in a much lower voice. “Tulips may seem to be a bit innocent. How about we call you Rose, then?”

“Actually, in Turkish and Persian legends, tulips represent perfect love,” the girl countered, “While the red rose is usually the universal symbol of love, the pink one is seen as gratitude, grace, admiration, and joy.”

Another step.

“Interesting. You seem to know a lot of things that I find stimulating,” Sana smirked while the girl raised an eyebrow, still smiling.

“Thought-provoking, I mean.” Sana clarified.

“Oh, I know a thing or two about stimulation.” The girl replied with the most innocent face she could muster. “So, which will it be?”

“Tulips or roses? Hmm, I don’t know—”

“To be fair, tulips also make me think of you.” The girl smirked.

“Oh? How so?” Sana was expecting it.

“Because I’ve been thinking about connecting these two lips — mine, to you.”

The final step closed the gap, making it easier for them to connect both their lips.

The girl gently put one hand at the back of Sana's head steadying her; the other settled on her waist. Sana wrapped her arms around the other's waist in return, pulling her closer.

They made the stars witness two lips trade stories that could make the sky blush into dawn. They tasted each other's smiles, laughter, and pain — while leaving invisible marks that silently screamed a string of what-ifs and will you let me.

They made music with each soft breath they took in between their lips — music only they could hear. Music that made their bodies want to move, making their hearts beat along with each savored exchange.

It wasn't long, but it also wasn't short. Just enough to dispel any doubts about whether or not there was a spark between them, and just enough to leave the question hanging: Will that spark ignite into something?

When the girl stepped back to break the kiss, they still couldn’t help smiling.

“Now, tulips also remind me of us two,” Sana mused, “so that leaves me with the rose.”

The young lady laughed, clearly amused. “Now that I know how sweet those lips are, I've decided I'd rather you call me by my proper name. I'd love to keep hearing you say it." She grimaced at how her pick-up line sounded after delivering it, and they both laughed.

"Give me your phone. I’ll type my number.”

Sana retrieved her phone from her pocket and realized it was turned off. “I forgot to charge it!”

She searched her pockets for her pen and found a crumpled receipt. The girl wrote her name and number on it and handed it back to Sana.

Sana was caught off guard when the girl switched from Korean to English with a hint of an Australian accent and said:

“By the way, it’s pronounced as Rosé.”

The girl in the black leather jacket and pink hair winked and walked away.

Sana was left with her mouth hanging open due to the hotness and absurdity of all that had happened. She shook her head and chuckled as she turned to enter the building.

With a smile on her face, Sana was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the other girl who stood beside the building entrance, alongside the rose bushes, watching their entire exchange. Her phone was in her hand, and she had sent several worried texts and made several unanswered calls to one number — Sana's.

Momo felt like her legs were planted on the ground as she had stood there waiting for hours. When Sana walked past her without even looking her way, she felt miffed. To her annoyance, she brushed the roses aside a bit harshly, and unfortunately, her hand came into contact with a few thorns.

“OUCH!”

< Go back to Chapter 5 >

Chapter 7 coming soon!

📌

This one's longer maybe because I enjoyed writing this a lot. I think I'll enjoy the next one as well haha!

To those that are still with me on this journey, hello to you but why are you still here? lol jk I appreciate it, really. 

I hope you stay with me until the end. 

Please, read the contents of my posts directly from this blog. 🙏

Let me know your thoughts via the comment section or say hi on Twitter @milky_A_galaxy

#TwiceHeresYourPerfect

Document Outline

Prologue & Chapter 1 first part

Chapter 1: Endgame  continuation

Chapter 2: Get You The Moon

Chapter 3: 8 Letters

Chapter 4: Dancing Without Music

Chapter 5: Walked Through Hell

Chapter 6: What Is Love?

Chapter 7 coming soon!