paste you to the pages of my heart

Chapter Fifteen

The revelation that Momo was in love with Nayeon for years before she and Dahyun got together, thankfully, doesn't put a strain on their friendship.

They went back to the apartment as they would usually do—Nayeon whining about Momo's inability to listen to her rant about work for five minutes straight and Momo giving her a side eye that's so judgmental anyone else would've cowered away from her.

That normalcy didn't mean, however, that Nayeon was simply content to let things be.

Of course, Momo avoided Jeongyeon when they came back and Jeongyeon, despite her annoying tendencies, knew their friend long enough to give her some space to cool down and mull things over. It's for the best, really, even if it made for an awkward sleepover.

Nayeon didn't have that same sense with Dahyun, though.

"Dahyunnie," Nayeon whispered once everyone was already in their respective resting places in the living room and she was sure that no one else was up.

Or lucid enough to care, at least.

"Huh, unnie?" Dahyun whispered right back, voice a little too loud even for Nayeon's liking.

Nayeon flinched at the volume but still said, "Can we talk?"

"Unnie, shut up," Jihyo muttered from beside her, annoyed.

Even Momo groaned in her slumber.

Chuckling, Dahyun carefully removed Momo's hold on her, stood up from her spot, and gestured for Nayeon to follow her out to the balcony.

"What's up, unnie?" Dahyun asked once they closed the balcony door behind them, and they were sure that their friends inside wouldn't be disturbed.

It was a little cold out, especially in the middle of the night, but Nayeon didn't mind the temperature. Instead, she focused on weaving her thoughts into words. She just needed to know something now or she wouldn't be able to sleep at all.

"Did you know about Momo's feelings for me?" Nayeon asked, choosing not to beat around the bush. Based on Dahyun's agreement earlier, Nayeon already had an inkling that Dahyun was at least aware of it.

Dahyun didn't even flinch at the question. Her eyes were clear as she stared out at the buildings surrounding them. "Yes."

Nayeon took a sharp intake of breath. She needed a straightforward answer and she got it. Still, she wanted to know, "And it didn't bother you?"

Dahyun shook her head, the corners of her lips pulled up a little in the beginning of a smile. Nayeon couldn't quite understand why Dahyun was smiling. "Momo-unnie has always been honest with me. And I knew she was in love with you long before we caught feelings for each other."

Right. Momo did say that she fell in love with Nayeon back in her freshman year.

"Besides," Dahyun continued, "she wasn't exactly subtle about it. She always brought an extra serving of food when she knew it was one of your favorites. Momo-unnie doesn't share her food."

"She does it with you," Nayeon argued. She'd seen how Momo would give portions of her food to Dahyun even when the younger woman didn't ask for it. And for Momo to do that meant she deeply cared about the other person. Because Dahyun was right. Momo never shares her food.

"And she did it with you, too."

Nayeon quickly went through all of her memories of spending her lunch break with Momo to remember if Momo did bring extra during those times. She could vaguely recall that Momo started sharing her food with her a month after they'd become 'official' friends and she never once did it with anyone else. Even smacked away Jeongyeon's sneaky hand for trying to steal that one time—