paste you to the pages of my heart

Chapter One

Her daughter is starting to look like Mina.

It's the first thing that comes to Nayeon's mind as she stares at her daughter's sleeping features.

Growing up, Minji seemingly inherited Nayeon's features—from the chubby cheeks to the confidence—but as years went by, Nayeon's starting to notice the moles scattered across her daughter's face like constellations and the gummy smile that is so uniquely Mina.

It's worrying.

Especially after hearing the news earlier that day.

"Minji's going to melt if you keep staring at her like that."

Nayeon rolls her eyes at Jeongyeon's remark but she does tear her gaze away from her child's face to focus instead on her best friend.

They're both leaning against the doorjamb of Minji's bedroom and Nayeon fights the urge to smack her friend for obviously trying to imitate her actions.

Nayeon's been doing that a lot lately—resisting her urges. Oh, look at what motherhood did to her.

"Yah, why are you even still here?" she asks in a faint voice, not wanting to wake her daughter up. Minji, after all, is a light sleeper. Like her other mother.

Jeongyeon shrugs as she moves away from the doorway to probably steal some more snacks from Nayeon's pantry, and Nayeon gives her sleeping daughter one last look before following her friend.

She makes it halfway through the kitchen before throwing a crayon at Jeongyeon's back to stop her from stealing another one of Nayeon's chips.

Jeongyeon whirls around and she stalks toward her best friend with a frown. "Did you just throw a damn crayon at me?"

"Language!" Nayeon hisses, automatically looking over her shoulder to check if Minji's anywhere near even though she's fast asleep. Not that Nayeon's subconscious cares; it's too used to checking after Minji's welfare after all. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your potty mouth clean when you're in my apartment?"

Jeongyeon huffs but she doesn't say anything as she goes to the fridge and steals another one of Nayeon's Sunkist.

"Seriously, Jeong? Stop stealing our groceries!" Nayeon says as she stalks toward her friend and grabs the Sunkist from her hand. "This is Minji's drink for her first day at kindergarten tomorrow!"

At hearing her goddaughter's name, Jeongyeon halts from stealing back her stolen juice. "Huh, it's her first day at school tomorrow?"

Nayeon nods, returning the Sunkist to its rightful place—which is in the fridge—before grabbing Jeongyeon's hand and dragging her to the living room to stop her from stealing the Ims' groceries again.

"She's old enough to go to school?" is the first thing that comes out of Jeongyeon's mouth when they finally settle down on the couch.

Nayeon flicks her best friend's forehead, and she automatically dodges the slap that Jeongyeon aims to deliver to her arm. "She is, paboya. Have you seriously forgotten? Weren't you there when everyone said they're going to pick up Minji and drop her off at school like some royalty?"

Recognition dawns on Jeongyeon's face and she can barely contain her laughter as she says, "Right. Didn't Momoring say that she's going to rent a limo?"

Nayeon nods, chuckling at the memory of the day when her friends learned that Minji is going to kindergarten already. "I doubt that she found an actual limo, but hey, at least I know I don't have to worry about traffic."

"You're not worried, are you?"

The sudden seriousness in Jeongyeon's question catches Nayeon off-guard. Her best friend is rarely serious when they're together, and so even after decades of knowing each other, Nayeon can still be surprised at her friend's sincerity.