paste you to the pages of my heart

Chapter Seventeen

Nayeon wakes up in a bouncy bed courtesy of her overzealous and way-too-active-in-the-morning four-year-old daughter.

"Mommy! Mama! Wake up. Wake up!"

Nayeon groans, not wanting to open her eyes just yet. Maybe if she ignores Minji long enough, she'll fall back asleep. She loves her daughter but she needs more sleep.

Sleep. Sleep sounds nice to Nayeon.

Plus, doesn't Minji want to stay in Nayeon's arms where it's warm and comfortable and safe? Nayeon sure as hell appreciates having her daughter as a cuddle buddy and maybe she should go back to sharing her bed with Minji as before.

"Mommy! Mama! Wake up awready!"

Wait.

Hold on a second.

But Minji is already awake and jumping on her bed. Then who the hell—

Nayeon's eyes fly open to see the top of someone's head lying on her chest with their arm slung across Nayeon's stomach, creating a warm safe space for the two of them.

Someone who smells like jasmine. Like Mina.

Mina?

Nayeon squints her eyes at the 'stranger's' head, trying to see their face, and she sees a scattering of moles across their features and—

Oh, shit!

It is Mina.

Nayeon barely manages to stop the urge to throw Mina off of her at the shocking realization, and she can feel all of her limbs freeze, unsure whether she should wake Mina up or scream bloody murder.

"Mama, wake up!"

Nayeon feels more than hears Mina's groan—what with it being directed right against her chest (good Lord)—as she, too, comes to consciousness and moves to lie on her back to look up at Minji.

The action, thankfully, frees Nayeon from Mina's hold and she tries to make space between her and Mina as discreetly as she can.

She doesn't want Mina to suspect that they've been cuddling in the absence of Minji in the middle of the bed.

That'll only make breakfast awkward.

God. Nayeon feels like she's twenty all over again.

Even with her warring thoughts, though, Nayeon can't help but recognize the sudden lightness that she feels after the sleep she had last night.

For years, she slept and woke up with a heavy feeling in her chest that always makes her ache for something unknown, as if her subconscious is restless because of God-knows-what reason. And yet one night with Minji and Mina easily shed that away, making her feel as though nothing is ever going to go wrong.

Her sleep last night was the most peaceful sleep she's had in years.

And she doesn't know if it's thanks to Minji... or... well, Mina.

Fuck, she's so screwed if it's because of Mina.

"Why are you up so early, sweetie?" Mina asks, her voice still thick with sleep as she rubs her eyes to scrutinize their daughter who is still towering over their lying figures.

"Schoow! I don't want to be wate for schoow, mama."

Nayeon chances a glance up at the clock hanging above Minji's bedroom doorway and sees that it's barely past six-thirty. She could've had fifteen more blissful minutes of sleep (having or not having Mina in her arms doesn't matter). "Baby, we don't have to get up until 6:45. We have alarms for a reason."