Maybe This Time | Saida

Chapter 6: Pretty But Odd Lady

A gentle smile appeared on Dahyun's face as soon as she saw Sana's small figure sitting in the bus stop shed from a distance. The Japanese woman, whose eyes were glued on her phone, didn't notice her pull up so Dahyun honked the car, making her whole body jump in surprise.

"Kim Dahyun, I almost had a heart attack!" Sana exclaimed as she slid in the passenger seat. Facing the driver, she saw Dahyun grinning playfully so she rolled her eyes and slapped her arm.

"I had to! You didn't even look up when I pulled up in front of you," Dahyun raised her hands in defense as Sana glared at her with a slight pout. When the brunette crossed her arms across her chest, she dramatically sighed before jokingly asking, "What can I ever do for you to forgive me, m'lady?"

As she said this, the sides of Sana's lips curved up into a mischievous smile and her next response almost made Dahyun choke on air.

"Give me a kiss?"

Sana was now leaning forward, left cheek outstretched as her index finger tapped on her plump skin. She glanced at the raven-haired Korean innocently with a glint of amusement in her eyes.

Suddenly, an eerily similar image flashed in Dahyun's mind—so alike that it made Dahyun's heart stop beating for a second.

It was a memory of a senior Sana and a sophomore Dahyun in the same position, except they weren't inside Tzuyu's car but in the latter's apartment. It was Sana leaning over the couch to playfully ask for a good luck kiss on the cheek from a very flustered Dahyun during their midterms week, when the younger girl just wanted to study for her exams in complete peace. But of course her roommate was the type to lock herself inside the room so that she could fully focus, and of course her roommate's best friend was the type to come over often to seek for company. It's safe to say that she successfully avoided having to peck her crush's cheek by retreating to Jeongyeon and Jihyo's room in annoyance (bashfulness).

Despite the stirring in her stomach and the heat creeping up on her face, Dahyun wanted to laugh out loud at her younger self for being so pathetic. Gulping down the slight nervousness that she's feeling, she gathered some courage as she continued to blankly stare at Sana's now fluttering lashes.

She can't lose, she's a grown woman now. She knew that she had to fight fire with fire.

"Sorry but I don't kiss just anyone, Sana." Dahyun retorted in a nonchalant manner, winking at the Japanese woman before focusing back on the road.

She heard Sana scoff and saw her slump back on the seat out of the corner of her eyes, and missed the faint blush that was shyly dancing on the brunette's cheeks.

"I didn't know you can drive and had a car," said Sana, changing the subject as she observed the vehicle's interior.

"I can only drive but I don't have a car. This is Tzuyu's baby." Dahyun replied, her eyes still fixed straight ahead.

When Sana had texted her about picking Momo up from the airport, Dahyun had asked if they had a car to use and they didn't. She then thought about how stressful and tiring it would be to commute publicly to and from Incheon especially with Momo's luggage, so she decided to ask Tzuyu if she could borrow her car for the day, to which the younger woman thankfully agreed to.

The car ride to the airport was surprisingly very calming. Dahyun wasn't used to seeing a quieter and calmer Sana, something that she thought was out of character for the usually hyperactive woman. In fact, Dahyun had never seen her this peaceful before. If this was years ago, the ride would definitely be filled with Sana's high-pitched voice screaming the lyrics to a song that was playing on the radio.

This was the present though, where Sana was at her late 20's already—where she's expectedly going to be a lot calmer and more mature most of the time. Even so, Dahyun can't help but think about the extraordinarily carefree and outgoing side of her. After all, it was what made her admire Sana in a different shine than her other friends.