Chapter Text
The day started off notably unremarkable for Mina, but ended in a way she never would’ve expected.
She’d sat through her two classes of the day, Human Anatomy and Biochemistry, before going home, changing into something comfortable yet cute, and headed out toward the performing arts building on campus. It was there she was taking a hip hop dance class, which occurred twice a week for half a semester.
Although it was one credit and completely unrelated to her degree, Mina absolutely loved dancing. She’d pursued it ever since she was in elementary school. Though she’d ultimately decided to not base a career around her passion, she still wanted to make sure that dance was a part of her life.
Luckily for her, the small yet talented dance community on her campus was very welcoming. She did a dance course every semester, and even participated in a yearly recital, choreographing her own routine to a song of her choice.
Today, she walked to class feeling perky and refreshed, despite it being the end of a long day. The music streaming from her airpods was upbeat and intense to keep her motivated.
Mina knew it was going to be a good class, and the thought of the teacher’s assistant, Momo, leading today’s session was only a small contributing factor to her unusually good mood...or so she told herself.
Momo was a mesmerizing force. When she danced, it was though Mina became enchanted, unable to take her eyes off the girl. Ever since she had seen the girl practice during her first dance class of college, Mina had become starstruck. Momo’s hard work and natural talent was unlike anything Mina had ever witnessed. Seeing Momo in motion lit a fire in Mina, reminding her of why she loved dance so much in the first place. She felt lucky to be in a course with the girl every semester, and even luckier when Momo was asked to be the TA for the class this time around.
Though Mina interacted with the girl very little outside of class, simply admiring her from afar, she found herself annoyingly smitten. It wasn’t just Momo’s dance skills that Mina admired, either. The little glimpses Mina caught of Momo outside of the studio were just as beautiful as when she was dancing.
To put it plainly, Mina had a giant crush on Momo.
But Momo was dating Sana.
Sana, who was everything Mina wasn’t.
Mina had accepted years ago that her crush would never amount to anything more. This allowed her to move on and have her own experiences in love and heartbreak, though she couldn’t deny her heart still beat a little faster whenever she watched Momo dance. She supposed, for better or for worse, her admiration would never disappear because Momo would always be gifted and the best at what she did.
Momo would always be Momo, and she would always be Mina, watching her with sparkling eyes.
Though she considered her crush more of a professional admiration at this point, Mina’s friends would still tease her about it from time to time. Her roommate had pointedly told her to enjoy class today, with a knowing grin.
Mina increased the volume of her music, blocking out her own thoughts. She’d arrived at the building and made her way to the practice room on the second floor. It was big enough for about twenty people to fit comfortably, although there were only 13 people including Momo in the class.
When she got there, only Momo and one other guy and girl had beat her there. They were chatting while stretching. Mina took off her sweatshirt and tucked it inside her backpack, which she’d set down near the door. She put her headphones away and grabbed a water bottle, ready to join the mini circle that had already formed.
Class went by like a blur. Momo showed the class a bit of choreography she had come up with to a Billie Eilish song. As she performed, Mina held her breath, trying to study her every move. The rest of the class clapped as the music stopped, and Momo gave a shy little bow, quickly trying to move on to teaching what she’d just performed.
“Very good, Mina. You’re so fluid as always.”
Mina felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she made eye contact with Momo in the mirror. The girl had moved to stand right beside her, eying her form. “Close your hips a bit more here.” Momo’s hand was on Mina’s waist, gently guiding her into the right position. “Perfect!”
Mina nodded enthusiastically, repeating the move again until Momo was satisfied and moved on to the next person. She breathed a sigh of relief, trying to focus on the choreography and not how good Momo looked today.
Class wrapped up too quickly for Mina’s liking. She packed up her things and pulled her sweatshirt back on for the walk home. Her classmates began to disperse, but Momo stayed behind to talk with their teacher, who had sat in on the class but let Momo have total control. Mina gave Momo a curt nod before she headed outside herself.
The sun was beginning to set, making the sky a dark shade of orange. Mina began to power walk home, looking forward to a long, hot shower. On her way there, about a hundred feet from the building, she suddenly spotted Sana walking toward her along the path. Mina guessed she was headed to the studio to meet Momo, as it wasn’t uncommon for the girl to appear there at night, even sometimes poking her head in to watch the end of a dance class.
The other girl looked beautiful and well put together as always. Her hair, which she had recently dyed light brown, bounced with each step she took. It was clear she was probably on her way to head out with Momo somewhere. The sight of Sana made Mina feel like a mess—grimy and unkept from pushing herself harder than usual during the class. It made her crave the warmth of a shower even more. Mina walked faster, hoping to breeze past the girl with as little of an interaction as possible.
Sana gave Mina a polite smile and wave as she grew closer and began to descend a short flight of stairs. Mina gave her a small wave back as she walked up the same set of stairs. Luckily that was it—just a simple greeting with no small talk. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Mina was nearly in the clear when she heard the scuff of a misstep. Sana, who was about to pass beside her, began to teeter forward with a look of surprise on her face. It was like the world slowed down and Mina could see very clearly that Sana was about to fall if she didn’t do something about it.
Out of instinct, Mina quickly reached to stabilize the girl by grabbing her arm, but Sana’s forward momentum was too much for Mina to prevent. Sana’s feet flew out from under her and she went tumbling down, and Mina, with her iron grip on Sana’s forearm, went tumbling with her. As they both slid toward the ground facing opposite directions, their heads collided jarringly.
A flash of white shrouded Mina’s vision as she felt the rough corners of each step slide down her back. She heard Sana let out a grumble once they had both reached the asphalt path at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn’t a terrible fall, but certainly didn’t feel great either. Mina was thankful that her backpack had slightly cushioned her fall, although oddly she couldn’t feel it on her back anymore. Maybe it had slipped off.
A moment of peace—the last moment of peace Mina and Sana would both experience for awhile—passed as both girls collected their bearings and came to their senses.
There was a shriek, followed by the sounds of scrambling. Mina opened her eyes only to be met with a finger pointing threateningly in her direction, a foot away from her face, and someone who was the spitting image of herself on the other end of it. “Who are you?” the girl demanded, looking shocked.
Mina realized she was still on the ground, and her body now ached slightly from the tumble. She sat up, wincing at the throbbing in her head. It took a moment for her memories to return to her, but when they did, she remembered Sana slipping, and herself reaching out to catch the girl.
The noble act had backfired tremendously when Sana had taken Mina down with her.
The girl pointing at her in accusation looked identical to her down to the clothes she was wearing. Those were Mina’s Adidas sweats, and even her favorite pair of shoes. It took a minute for Mina to even find her voice to answer the girl.
“I’m Mina,” she finally said, staring back at the girl in confusion. “Who are you, and why do you look exactly like me?” As soon as she spoke, her voice sounded wrong out loud—higher than she was used to. It made her wince.
“Mina?” her doppelganger asked, sounding unconvinced. “You’re definitely not Mina. You look just like me.”
Mina rubbed her head, finally making an effort to stand. It was then she caught sight of the black thigh highs on her legs, and the dark jeans and trench coat she had on that definitely did not belong to her. She froze, unsure of how to react. These clothes, she realized, were exactly what Sana had been wearing just a second ago.
“Wait…” Mina’s hands trembled as she held them up in front of her wide eyes. Even her hands looked different, and her nails were painted a light, pastel pink. Just last night, she had painted them light blue. “This can’t be happening.”
“What’s happening?” the other girl asked, looking genuinely confused. She made a strange face at the sound of her own voice, clearing her throat. “Tell me what’s going on!”
Mina finally looked up at the girl sporting her own face again, and the sight nearly made her faint. There was only one explanation. “Sana?” she asked, quietly.
The girl nodded. Then, as if suddenly struck by an epiphany, Sana looked down at what she herself was wearing and gasped. So caught up in seeing her twin, she hadn’t taken note of the differences about herself until now. She had definitely not been wearing all this a minute ago. How was it possible her clothes had changed in an instant? Had she been out for awhile after the fall? No, that didn’t make sense. “Wait a second,” she said out loud. “If you’re Mina, but you look like me, and I look like you then...we...switched bodies?”
Mina felt her legs suddenly give out on her, but Sana was there, hoisting her up and keeping her steady. “It’s not possible,” Mina murmured, hating how light and airy her voice now sounded. “This is—”
“Incredible,” Sana finished, looking at Mina in awe.
“Not the word I’d use to describe it,” Mina replied, crossing her arms out of habit but quickly uncrossing them again, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Why did this happen? How did this happen? This is literally impossible.”
Sana simply shrugged, looking so unbothered that it bothered Mina. “It’s like something out of a drama.”
But this is not a drama, Mina wanted to scream. This is real life. Things like this don’t happen.
“Sana! There you are,” a voice chirped suddenly, startling both Mina and Sana. Momo appeared in the distance, rushing toward the two girls. She had changed out of her sweaty dance outfit and into something fancier, though her hair was still slightly tousled from class. Mina’s stomach twisted at the sight of the girl, who had an excited grin on her face. When she reached them, she lightly pecked a kiss on Mina’s cheek, making the girl choke up in surprise.
“Are you ready to go eat? I’m starving!” Momo smiled brightly at the person she believed to be her girlfriend. “Are you okay? You look kind of pale…”
Mina didn’t know how to react or respond to the look of adoration Momo was giving her. Momo thought she was Sana. And why shouldn’t she, when Mina looked exactly like her? “I—I’m not feeling well,” she mumbled, barely able to get a few words out. She looked toward Sana desperately, begging for any kind of help with her eyes.
The other girl, who was intrigued by the situation, snapped to attention and immediately stepped in to help. “She slipped on the stairs. I tried to catch her but she took me down with her,” Sana explained. “I think she might be a bit sick.”
Momo immediately moved closer to Mina, inspecting the girl’s face for any cuts or bruises. “You’re so clumsy,” Momo scolded. “Are you hurt?” When Mina shook her head slowly, holding in an internal scream, Momo looked relieved. Turning to Sana, she asked if she was alright as well, and thanked her for trying to save her girlfriend from the fall.
“Anytime,” Sana said, giving Momo a warm smile. She was clearly amused by all this, and not jealous due to the absurdity of it all. There was an awkward beat as Sana remained standing there, looking between Momo and Mina. She realized that must’ve been a weird thing for her to do, cause she quickly cleared her throat and said her goodbyes to them both.
“Hope you feel better, Sana,” she called, over her shoulder. “And I’ll see you next class!” She gave Momo a small wave and readjusted Mina’s backpack over her shoulders before she continued walking down the path, leaving Mina and Momo alone.
A sense of dread filled Mina as Sana got further and further away. How could she abandon her in a situation like this? Where was she going?
“Mina’s sweet,” Momo murmured, as she watched Sana walk away as well. “I would’ve just laughed at you if you slipped in front of me.”
Momo expected a whine, or at least a playful shove from her girlfriend, but there was nothing. In fact, the girl was looking at Momo rather strangely, like she could see right through her.
Immediately, Momo knew something was really wrong. “You know I’m joking. With my lightning-fast reflexes, I would’ve totally caught you. Then when you were safe and sound, I would’ve laughed.” She stared at her girlfriend, waiting for even a hint of the smile she knew so well. But there was nothing.
Mina couldn’t even bring herself to laugh half-heartedly. She could only stare back at Momo apologetically, because everything about this felt wrong. That joke was meant for Sana to hear, for Sana to whine about. Mina was supposed to be home now, far away from this.
Frowning, Momo took a step forward. “Are you okay?” she asked, grabbing the other girl’s forearm and slowly sliding her hand down until their fingers were entangled together. Mina hated how naturally her body responded to it, taking Momo’s hand without hesitation.
Mina swallowed, biting her tongue to try to quiet the thundering of her heartbeat, which was ringing in her ears. Momo was dangerously close to her, only illuminated by the faint streetlights overhead. She’d been close to the other girl many times over the past few years, but this was scarily different. Mina finally shook her head, without saying a word. All her logical thoughts were screaming at her to drop Momo’s hand and run. She knew Momo would chase after her, though. She always chased after Sana.
“You’re really not feeling good, huh?”
“I’m sorry,” was all Mina could say.
Momo bit her lip. “Don’t apologize. Let’s just get you home and reschedule dinner for another day. Sound good?” Her voice now was surprisingly cute and gentle—a lot less intimidating than it was during class.
Mina would’ve appreciated the sound a lot more if she wasn’t in this predicament. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’m sorry,” she repeated, weakly, not really knowing what else to say. All she knew was that she needed to find Sana and figure out a way to switch them back, immediately.
“I’ll walk you home,” Momo offered, reaching for Mina’s right hand and taking it in her left. “Are you gonna be okay to walk? I can give you a piggyback ride if you’re not.”
Momo’s hand was soft and warm, and also surprisingly tiny in Mina’s. Part of Mina wanted to pull her hand from Momo’s, feeling bad that she had conned the girl into believing she was her girlfriend (as if she had a choice in the matter), but another part of her liked it. It’d been awhile since someone had held her hand and looked at her like that. But it wasn’t really her hand that Momo was holding, Mina had to remind herself. It was Sana’s. Momo was Sana’s .
“I’m fine to walk,” Mina assured, as the two fell in step side by side with one another. Truthfully, she didn’t feel sick at all, besides the pit in her stomach churning with disbelief and guilt. Hopefully she could get Momo away from her long enough to find Sana, and stop playing this dangerous game.
Since Mina wasn’t doing any talking, Momo filled the silence here and there, asking how her day went, and telling her about how class went today. Mina answered her questions as generally as possible, actually having no idea how Sana’s day went, let alone what a normal day for Sana was like.
After all, her and Sana weren’t even friends. Sana happened to be someone dating a girl she had classes with. That was all.
It felt like an eternity until they finally reached what appeared to be Sana’s dorm building, which was coincidentally a few buildings down from Mina’s. “I’ll go in with you and get you settled,” Momo replied, when Mina stopped outside the door nervously.
Shaking her head violently, Mina refused the offer. “It’s okay, I’ll be fine getting inside on my own.” It was a lie, of course. Mina didn’t even know which apartment was Sana’s.
Momo pouted at that. “Are you sure? I’ll even tuck you into bed and make you some hot chocolate. With marshmallows.”
Mina hesitated for a moment, seriously considering the offer because it sounded irresistibly nice. But she quickly shook her head again, insisting Momo get home and get some rest herself.
“Fine,” Momo sighed. “But text me if you need anything, okay?” She took Mina’s face in her hands and leaned forward, brushing the girl’s lips with her own. Mina let it happen for a second before she ducked away, interrupting the kiss. She felt like a complete fraud.
“I’m sick,” Mina said, not meeting Momo’s eyes. If she hadn’t looked away, she might have seen the hurt and confusion in them. “I don’t want you to get sick, too.”
“If you’re sick, then I’m already doomed. It’s part of the package deal,” Momo insisted, shrugging. “But okay, I’ll leave you alone to rest, then. Goodnight!” she snuck one last kiss on Mina’s cheek before she turned around and began to walk away, leaving Mina standing in front of the door dumbly, without a clue what to do next.
If this was a nightmare, she surely would have woken up by now.
“Mina,” a voice hissed, making her jump nearly a foot in the air.
Turning around, Mina noticed a bush beside the apartment building entrance rustling. She prepared to make a run for it.
A moment later, a figure emerged, and sure enough, there was Sana standing there with a wide grin. “Making moves on my girlfriend, huh?” she teased.
“Oh, thank god it’s you,” Mina put a hand to her chest, sighing with relief. “Why would you just leave me there like that?”
Sana put her hands on her hips, shrugging. “There was nothing I could really do, and I had a feeling you’d take care of cancelling dinner with how scared you looked when Momo kissed you.” Sana certainly hadn’t missed the way Mina had almost squirmed in pure disbelief and terror. “Plus, I kind of wanted to see how cute Momo and I actually look together from an outside perspective.” She seemed satisfied by whatever she’d seen, watching Mina and Momo from afar for most of their walk to the dorms.
“How are you being so relaxed about this?” Mina demanded, feeling anger swell up in her chest at Sana’s easygoing expression.
“It’s out of my control. The universe wanted this to happen for whatever reason.” Her statement didn’t seem to be making Mina any less angry, so Sana continued. “Look, we’ll figure this out. And until then, this is kind of funny.”
If looks could kill, Sana would’ve been gone then and there. “We need to talk somewhere private. C’mon, let’s go back to the dance studio. No one is there after 6 on Wednesdays.” Mina took Sana’s wrist and began to pull her in the direction they’d just come from.
“We were just there though!” Sana whined, but she let herself be dragged. She knew Mina was right—they had limited options of where to go to talk in private.
◆◆◆
Their walk back to the studio was uncomfortably quiet, with both girls sneaking peeks at each other along the way. Just as Mina had said, the studio was all but empty. They walked into a practice room, and Mina turned on the overhead lights before shutting the door behind them.
They were immediately greeted by the sight of their own reflections, plastered on the large floor-to-ceiling mirror in the front of the room. Sana set Mina’s backpack down on the wood floor behind them and spun back around to observe herself further. She tilted her head in various angles to see how she looked each way, and then hummed in satisfaction.
“You’re really pretty, Mina,” Sana murmured. She couldn’t take her eyes off the mirror, even moving closer toward it to get a better look.
Mina, on the other hand, couldn’t bear to look at her new reflection for more than a few seconds at a time. The sight of an unfamiliar person staring back at her made her stomach churn. Especially when that person was Sana, who Mina had envied ever since they first met last year when Momo had introduced her. She completely understood why Momo had fallen for Sana so quickly, though Mina hated to admit it.
Mina tried to shake the feeling that she was unworthy of all this. Unworthy to be Sana.
“Momo is going to lose her mind when she finds out!” Sana replied, with a mischievous look on her face. “I’m only telling you this considering the circumstances, but before Momo and I started dating, she let it slip that she thinks you’re hot. And she wasn’t wrong.”
Momentarily stunned for multiple reasons, Mina blinked rapidly a few times to let her brain process what she’d just heard, before digging her heels in and looking at Sana as if she were a mad woman. “What do you mean Momo is going to lose her mind? Momo isn’t going to find out. We can’t tell anyone about this, Sana!” Her voice was surprisingly loud and adamant.
Sana stepped back involuntarily and cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean? What else are we supposed to do?” she asked, genuinely unsure. To her, letting Momo know was the logical next step. It was the necessary next step. The interaction with Momo before was just for fun—but the game was over now.
Mina began to rub her temples and squeezed her eyes shut, letting out an audible sigh. She was racking her brain for any ideas to help end this nightmare but was coming up short. “If we tell someone, they won’t believe us. They’ll think we’re insane.”
She could imagine Sana going to Momo and trying to tell her the truth, only to be met with complete disbelief and anger. Sana would escape any of the blame, but Momo might be so mad she’d never talk to Mina again. She couldn’t stand the thought of Momo thinking poorly of her, even if she was in a different body at the moment.
“We’ll make them believe us,” Sana said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. As if it were that easy. Mina bit her lip to hold back a cruel laugh. What an idealistic world this girl must be living in, to not be as worried as Mina was right now. “Momo will believe me if I tell her the truth.”
For some reason, the certainty in Sana’s statement made Mina’s chest ache. Perhaps she craved that level of trust in someone else. She trusted her friends, sure, but this was on an entirely different level. “And if she doesn’t? Think about it, this is something that has never happened before in the history of mankind, as far as we know. It’s something we see on TV, in movies, but it’s not real.”
“Look at us, Mina!” Sana exclaimed, raising her voice for the first time during this interaction. She stepped closer to the other girl, waving her hands down the length of her new body as if to prove a point. Her slightly amused mood was replaced with one of exasperation. “This is our reality! It is real.”
Mina swallowed roughly, shifting her eyes away from the girl in front of her who was beginning to get a little too close for her liking. “Telling someone about our situation isn’t going to solve the problem. We can’t live our lives in different bodies. We have to undo this, somehow.”
“Obviously,” Sana scoffed. Her irritation was beginning to fizzle down, however, as she continued to gaze at Mina, who looked more miserable than anything. “Do you think the fall caused it?”
“If I had to take a guess, yes,” Mina said. “It happened immediately after we bumped our heads together really hard. It seems like that was the catalyst.” In fact, the spot where their heads collided still ached, but the shock of the switch had made Mina forget about the pain almost entirely until now.
As if reading her mind, Sana raised a hand and began to rub the sore spot on her own head, wincing. “So I guess we should try bumping our heads again to see if it’ll switch us back? I think you might have gotten a concussion from the first time, though,” she whined.
“There’s no way we bumped heads hard enough to cause that,” Mina assured, but she glanced at the spot Sana was rubbing, slightly worried. “Stop rubbing it,” she scolded, afraid Sana was just going to make the injury even worse. Sana gave her a pout but dropped her hand obediently.
“Let’s just tap our heads together on the other side this time,” Sana suggested. She moved so that she was standing besides Mina, facing the opposite way so that the sides of their heads which hadn’t yet collided were side by side.
Mina took a breath, ready to brace herself. “This is idiotic,” she muttered to herself, but loud enough so that Sana heard it.
“Well, do you have any better ideas?” she asked, genuinely all ears, but Mina remained quiet. “That’s what I thought. Now, on the count of three. One.” Sana looked at Mina to continue.
“Two,” Mina followed, a bit helplessly.
“Three!” The girls knocked their heads together—more than a light tap but not a total slam. As their heads collided, they immediately bounced off of each other and grunted. The scene would have been a bit comedic under different circumstances, but Mina was not in a laughing mood.
Mina’s eyes were scrunched shut in concentration despite the pain, willing the forces of the universe to switch them back with every ounce of her being.
“It didn’t work...”
Mina opened one eye slowly, seeing Sana staring back at her apologetically. Sighing loudly, Mina opened her other eye and let the defeat soak in.
“What else can we do?” Sana asked, staring up at the ceiling as if it would give her the answer she so desired. “We have to tell someone. Maybe Momo will know what to do, or even Nayeon…” She started to walk toward the door, ready to find Momo immediately.
Mina caught the girl’s forearm, tugging her backward. “Sana, please! You can’t tell them!” Her voice was desperate. “It’s possible they’ll tell someone we need help. Doctors could get involved. Do you wanna be a lab rat for the rest of your life? Or forcibly medicated? Have to drop out of school?” She could go on and on about all the ways telling someone could go wrong, but these were all worst-case scenarios, after all. “We’ll find another way to switch ourselves back. There has to be a way…”
“I guess you’re right but, what do we do in the meantime? How long will it take?” Sana sounded tired. All she wanted to do was run to Momo, who was no doubt home now, wondering what was going on with her. They’d collapse in Momo’s bed, completely intertwined, and just lay like that for awhile, with nothing more than their own heartbeats between them.
“We...pretend to be each other.”
Sana stared at Mina incredulously, thinking perhaps the second bump had done more damage to the girl’s brain— her brain, technically—than anticipated. “We...what?”
“Just for as long as it takes to figure this out,” Mina pleaded. “I’ll do some research right now and see if I can find anything. It won’t be long.”
“How can you be so sure?” Sana asked, running her mind through what it would be like to pretend to be Mina for more than a few minutes. She knew barely anything about the girl. Pulling it off earlier tonight was an exception, because it was only for a few moments and Momo’s attention had been on Mina, anyway.
Mina crossed her arms and bit her lip, thinking. “I’ll take you back to my apartment. We can do some research there and we’ll figure things out. Lucky for us both, I have my own room, but my roommate might be home.” She habitually reached for her phone in the pocket of her sweatpants, but realized a bit too late that her phone was now in Sana’s pocket. “Um, what time is it? My phone is in my front pocket.”
Sana quickly reached her hand down into the shallow pocket and pulled out Mina’s phone, which was a newer model than her own. She tapped on the screen to see the time, noticing Mina’s lockscreen was a picture of a little brown dog snuggled on a bed. “It’s quarter to 7 now.”
Mina huffed. “Okay, my roommate is home but we might be able to dodge her and run right into my room. You know her, right? Jihyo?”
Nodding, Sana thought back to her experiences with the girl in question. She’d interacted with Jihyo a handful of times, having been in a class with her once, but beyond that, she didn’t know her well. From the few times they had talked though, she had liked Jihyo a lot. The girl had a bright smile, and had actually lent Sana her notes once when she missed a class due to a cold.
“Okay, well if she tries to talk to you just say we’re partnered up for class or something,” Mina offered. “She won’t press if you say we have to get to work.”
Mina grabbed her backpack and swung it over her shoulder, but then she paused, staring with wide eyes at her reflection. It was still so odd to see Sana looking back at her.
“I’ll take that, for now,” Sana insisted, reaching out her hand to take the backpack from Mina. “Here, you take this.” After Sana had Mina’s backpack over her shoulder, she handed her own purse to Mina. It was a cute bag—large, black and designer. “Just to keep up appearances, like you said. It’d look weird to someone else if I was carrying your backpack.”
Mina couldn’t argue with that. She took one last look at her new reflection before she followed Sana toward the door. She flipped the lights off in the studio and closed the door behind her.
The autumn air was chilly, and the sweatshirt Mina had put on after class did little to actually keep Sana warm. Noticing the girl beside her shivering slightly, Mina quickly apologized for not bringing something heavier. “I didn’t realize it was gonna cool down so fast,” she admitted. “But I didn’t think I’d be out this late, either.”
Sana had been well prepared for the cold, luckily. Her jacket was a thick, grey trench coat that nearly went down to her knees, keeping Mina perfectly warm. “You need to dress warmer,” Sana said. It was her turn to scold Mina this time. “You’re gonna catch a cold. Well...I guess actually I’ll be the one catching it, but you know what I mean.”
They walked side by side in silence for a bit, both trying to dodge anyone they happened to see walking by. Luckily they didn’t encounter anyone that either of them knew. Finally, they reached Mina’s dorm, which was only a few buildings down from Sana’s. They both lived on the outskirts of campus in the nicer buildings reserved for upperclassmen. “My keycard,” Mina replied, motioning for Sana to hand her the backpack. Mina fished out her card and opened the building door. She began to ascend a staircase to the right, before handing Sana her apartment keys.
Sana pressed her lips together but managed to fiddle with the door key for only a little bit before she unlocked the door and swung it open. Being the first one to enter an unfamiliar apartment felt awkward, but she did it anyway. The lights to the small foyer and kitchen were already on. As predicted, Jihyo was home. In fact, she was standing in front of the open refrigerator, looking through it for something to make for dinner.
When the front door opened, she glanced over with surprise to see not only Mina, but Sana shuffling in behind her as well.
“Oh hey,” Jihyo said, greeting both girls with an easy smile on her face. “It’s been awhile, Sana.”
As the girls slipped off their shoes, Sana accidentally opened her mouth to respond, but luckily Mina rushed to spit something out before the other girl made the mistake of answering. “Hey Jihyo, yeah it has been a long time. How have you been?” It sounded convincing enough, although it wasn’t exactly the greeting that Sana herself would have given.
As Jihyo gave a quick summary of what she’d been up to over the summer—working a part time job at her father’s law firm—Sana quickly thought of how to streamline the conversation to get her and Mina out of there.
“I didn’t even know you guys knew each other, honestly,” Jihyo said, once she’d finished talking. She gave Sana an amused yet curious glance. She was clearly waiting for an explanation from her friend.
Mina gave Sana a subtle tap with her foot as they fell into an awkward beat, all the while continuing to smile politely at Jihyo.
“Oh, um, we got assigned a project together for class. Actually, speaking of that, we should probably get working. It’s due Friday,” Sana spouted.
Jihyo nodded with an unreadable expression, continuing to stare Sana down. “Good luck! I’ll just be out here making dinner.”
They said their goodbyes and Sana quickly scurried in the direction she hoped Mina’s room was. The apartment wasn’t very big though, luckily, so she found the room rather easily. The door was open to reveal a tidy, small room with a few band posters hanging up on the wall, and a desk decorated with a few framed pictures and a small, blue penguin plushie. On her window sill was a light green cactus, not more than ten centimeters tall.
Mina shut the door behind them with a sigh of relief. “Sorry about the mess,” Mina replied, setting Sana’s purse down on her bed and shrugging off the girl’s coat. There was no mess to be found—in fact, Sana was actually alarmed at how tidy the place was, but she didn’t say anything. She stripped off Mina’s sweatshirt and set it on Mina’s bed as well, feeling a bit hot indoors after walking in the cold.
For some reason, Mina froze up at the sight of Sana without the sweatshirt on. Following the girl’s lingering gaze, Sana saw she was staring at the exposed part of her stomach that was showing from the crop top Mina had decided to wear. Looking down in amazement, Sana couldn’t help but run her fingers along the smooth, exposed skin, feeling Mina’s ab muscles underneath. “You’re really toned,” she observed, continuing to feel the solid muscles before both of her hands were snatched away by Mina.
“Stop...doing that,” she hissed, giving Sana a warning glare.
“You were the one staring!” Sana pointed out, with a playful tone to her voice.
Mina sighed, collapsing down in her computer chair.”It’s just...weird to see myself this way,” she explained, feeling her face flushing. “It’s different from seeing yourself in a picture or video, you know?”
The girl was right—this was an entirely weird and foreign experience to them both. There was something indescribably odd about seeing her own body through someone else’s eyes. At least, Sana noted, her makeup looked incredibly good today. She thought, bitterly to herself, that Momo would’ve loved it had she actually gotten to appreciate it for longer than just a quick walk through campus.
Mina opened up her Macbook and began to google anything she could think of relating to their situation. The only thing that came up, of course, were fictional stories. There were no recorded cases of this happening in any online medical journals that she could find, either.
Holding her head in her hands, Mina groaned. Sana, who was peeking over her shoulder, gave her an apologetic pat on the back. “So, bumping heads again didn’t help, but maybe when we go to bed we’ll wake up and this will all be over?”
Sana was trying her best to stay optimistic. Their situation wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen in the world. She felt lucky that it had happened with Mina, of all people, though looking at the other girl, it seemed she was taking things a lot harder than Sana was.
“Maybe some sleep will do us some good,” Mina agreed, pulling her head up and doing one last search. “I’ll keep looking tonight in the meantime. There has to be something that can help us.”
She turned to look at Sana, as if to cue the girl that it was a good time for her to head out, but then she remembered...this technically wasn’t her room anymore. This wasn’t even her apartment.
“You want me to sleep here tonight?” Sana asked, as if reading Mina’s thoughts again. “I mean, if you wanna do the whole pretend to be each other thing. You can stay in my apartment....”
“Do you have roommates?” Mina asked, feeling slightly anxious at the thought of sleeping in Sana’s bed.
“My friend Nayeon, but that’s it. The layout of my apartment is actually almost the same as yours. We each have our own rooms like you and Jihyo.”
Sighing with relief, Mina nodded. Not having to share a room with a stranger was at least a plus. She stood up to give Sana a little tour of her room to get the girl settled. “My clothes are...in the closet. And in this dresser here.” She opened a drawer full of pajama sets to show Sana.
“I normally just sleep in a t-shirt and shorts...it gets a little hot in here at night. The bathroom is right next door to my room. I share it with Jihyo. She takes showers at night and I shower in the morning…” her voice trailed off, suddenly thinking of having to shower in this predicament. Sana would have to shower tonight, unless she wanted to deal with the sweat of dance class still lingering...
Sana let out a breathy laugh, seeing the look of terror on Mina’s face. “I’ll be perfectly respectful with your body, I promise.”
Mina swallowed, feeling her face heating up. Her eyes shifted away from Sana’s amused grin. “Right, um, thank you. If we don’t switch back though, I do have a few classes tomorrow morning and afternoon that I really can’t afford to miss…”
“Wait, you’re a med student, right?” Sana asked, starting to look horrified herself. When Mina nodded in confirmation, Sana let out a groan. “Oh god, I don’t know how I’ll sit through those classes.”
“Just do your best to take notes...and we’ll swap them at the end of the day,” Mina replied. “And you’re studying law right?”
Crossing her arms, Sana nodded. “I only have one class tomorrow, so you’re lucky. It’s my light day. I’ll send you a schedule, and you should send me yours as well.”
The two girls grabbed their own phones. They instantly traded numbers and sent screenshots of what their days would look like. “We have to take each other’s phones too, right?” Sana asked. “I can’t be carrying my phone around all day looking like you.”
“I suppose not,” Mina agreed. Her fingers flew across her screen as she desperately tried to think of anything she didn’t want Sana to see. Besides a few embarrassing selfies, and a few texts to Jihyo where she might have been gushing over how attractive Momo was, there was nothing to hide. She removed the password from her phone and had Sana do the same, that way they’d have no trouble accessing them. “Let’s establish a few ground rules.”
“What, you don’t trust me?” Sana asked, in mock offense. But there was a mischievous glint behind her eyes that made Mina nearly squirm. “I know, I know. No snooping or looking into private stuff. It’s just common decency.”
Mina nodded, glad her and Sana were on the same page. “We should let the other person know if someone contacts us about something important. Like, let’s say my parents text me, you should let me know so I can tell you how to answer them.” She could only pray no one messaged her anything embarrassing while Sana had her phone.
“Well, I can tell you right now that Momo’s going to be messaging you a lot.” Sana wore a slight grin, quickly typing out a reply to the girl now. Momo was wondering how Sana was doing. The whole sick thing was a lame excuse, but she gave Mina credit for coming up with it on the fly. “She wants to grab lunch with me tomorrow. We always get food together on Thursdays.”
Sana raised her head to look at Mina expectantly.
“Can’t we...reschedule or something?” Mina pleaded.
“I could but...if we want to be convincing, then you should at least do this. She’ll start to get suspicious if I start ignoring her, especially with missing out on dinner tonight.” Truthfully, Sana desperately didn’t want to hurt Momo. And since Mina was adamant about not telling anyone about the switch, the girl would have to step up and keep Momo happy for now. “Besides, you know her so it won’t be that bad, right?”
Trying to remain as cool as possible, Mina nodded. “I can try my best.” It was just lunch, right?
But Sana could see right through Mina’s exterior—the girl was nervous. “I’m normally pretty affectionate in public. You’ll have to kiss her at least a few times, or else she’ll think something’s up. The sick excuse won’t work for long.”
Inside, Mina was quaking. “W-wait—”
“She’ll act like she doesn’t like it, but she loves it,” Sana assured, grinning as she watched Mina’s cool exterior crack before her eyes. Teasing the girl was fun. “I won’t strike you down or anything, it’s completely necessary...unless you want to change your mind and tell her the truth after all?”
Mina suddenly knew what Sana was doing—she was trying to get her to change her mind about the whole situation. It wasn’t gonna work. She wouldn’t risk getting locked up over this. “No. I can handle it,” she assured, though her voice shook and betrayed her. Sana found Mina’s nervousness to be cute.
“Momo won’t bite,” Sana replied. “Well…”
The face Mina made was enough to make Sana giggle. She decided that was enough teasing for now. “So...since I honestly don’t know you very well, tell me about yourself.”
Mina wasn’t sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry at the question.
“I know you’re a med student and you’re big into dance—Momo’s always spoke highly of you—but what else? What are your aspirations? Who’s your best friend? What kind of music do you like?”
Mina sat down on the other side of the bed, thinking of how to answer, or rather where to start. “Other than being a surgeon, I’m not really sure,” Mina admitted. “I have two best friends, Jeongyeon and Jihyo. I like all kinds of music, but mostly pop and r&b.”
Sana nodded, making a mental note. “You dated Jeongyeon, right?”
It was an unexpected question. Mina didn’t think Sana even knew who Jeongyeon was. She nodded slowly, feeling an explanation get caught in her throat.
Sensing she was wadding into tense territory, Sana tried to be as casual as possible. “It’s nice you remained friends after everything. I haven’t been as lucky with exes in the past,” Sana replied, saying no more than that.
Swiveling back and forth in her desk chair, Mina nodded. Her friendship with Jeongyeon meant the world to her. They had dated during her sophomore year of college for about five months, before things had ended. “I don’t think either one of us could stand not having the other in our lives, even after everything,” Mina explained. “When I broke things off I knew it’d be too selfish to hope to still be friends, but we grew even closer afterward, surprisingly. Jeong’s a really great person.”
Normally, Mina didn’t say things this cheesy, but she was feeling oddly sentimental tonight. And despite not knowing Sana well, the girl gave off such a welcoming and non-judgmental energy, even in a different body, that Mina felt safe talking about her feelings around her. It was kind of nice, actually.
“I’m looking forward to meeting her,” Sana said, smiling fondly. “I know of her but we haven’t officially met.”
Thinking of Sana meeting Jeongyeon under these circumstances made Mina somewhat uneasy. Jeongyeon and her had so many inside jokes, it certainly would be hard for an outsider to understand them. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself. We don’t know how long this... switch ...will last. But, if you do meet her, you have to make sure you laugh at her jokes,” Mina said. “I’m the only one who does, normally. Jihyo just rolls her eyes.”
“Sounds like Momo for me,” Sana mused. Momo liked to make fun of Sana often, laughing at her klutziness. Sana didn’t mind because she loved hearing Momo’s laughter.
“What about you?” Mina asked, shifting the topic of the conversation to her. “You and Momo have been dating for over a year now, right?”
Nodding, Sana smiled brightly. “A year and two months.”
“And you said Nayeon was a friend of yours, right?”
Sana’s bright smile continued. “She’s been my best friend since my first year here. She can be a little intense at times, just a warning.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mina asked, raising an eyebrow.
“She has a strong personality, at least around me,” Sana explained. “When you get to my apartment, she’ll probably ask you a ton of questions. That’s just because she cares though. And she’s nosey as hell.”
Mina hummed in understanding. Jeongyeon could be that way sometimes—overbearing—but she meant well. It was just because she cared.
“Just do your best to answer her. And don’t be afraid to be a little snappy with her, too. She expects that from me. Don’t be so…” her voice trailed off as she looked at Mina. “...timid.”
“Timid?” Mina reiterated, frowning.
“You know, like you usually are,” Sana explained, looking a bit sheepish.
Huffing, Mina turned away. “I’m not as timid as you think,” she assured. “I’m just not super outgoing around strangers.” She said it pointedly, to emphasize that Sana was still practically a stranger to her.
Pressing her lips together, Sana looked at Mina knowingly. “Well, think of her as a friend from now on. And think of me as one, too.”
Mina didn’t do anything but sigh softly, so Sana kept talking.
“Nayeon might ask you about Momo. She knows to expect me to be out late because of dinner on Wednesday nights. Just tell her you’re feeling sick and she should leave you alone. Oh also, don’t close your bedroom door before you go to bed or she will barge in unexpectedly, guaranteed.”
Mina nodded, mentally taking note of everything. Nayeon did seem like a handful, but if she was friends with Sana, she was obviously a lovable one.
“She has an 8AM tomorrow though so you won’t have to deal with her for long,” Sana assured. “And even though she might seem intimidating, she’s really a dork.”
“I look forward to meeting her,” Mina lied, and Sana laughed. “I might as well just head over there now, I guess.”
Sana explained to Mina which apartment was hers, showed her where her keycard and keys were in her purse, and texted Mina her computer password so she could continue doing research over there if she wanted. She gave Mina a quick rundown of what her room looked like, where things were, and the general layout of the apartment.
“And if something comes up, just text me,” Sana replied, finishing her monologue.
“Same to you,” Mina said, although she couldn’t imagine Sana having much trouble here. “You can play my Switch if you want...just don’t overwrite any of my save files.” She gave Sana a serious look, not turning away until Sana nodded.
The two girls could only hope they would wake up and this would all be over, but Mina had a bad feeling that wouldn’t be the case at all.
They exited Mina’s room, walking out into the living room and kitchen area, where Jihyo was finishing up eating dinner as she typed furiously on her laptop keyboard.
“Headed out?” she asked, looking at Mina. Mina nodded, and Jihyo gave her a warm grin. “Well, it was good to see you again. I’ll see you around!”
After Mina slipped Sana’s boots on at the door, she was surprised to suddenly feel arms around her. Sana had pulled her into a hug, unexpectedly. Letting out a small “oh,” it took Mina a moment before she returned the hug. It felt nice, and slightly reassuring. Mina was quite taller than Sana at the moment now, with the help of the boot heels.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Mina replied gently, as they each let go of one another. She took a breath and left the apartment, only turning to look back at the sound of the door closing behind her. The door closing felt symbolic in some way. For a small moment, the thought of never being able to switch back reared its ugly head in her mind, but she quickly shushed it so that she could remain sane for the time being.
Sana closed the apartment door, feeling slightly nervous but also...excited? She wasn’t sure exactly what she was going to do with herself for the time being, but she knew it was going to be hard for her to fall asleep tonight. She thought of Momo, oblivious to all this, hoping the girl was resting and keeping herself busy tonight. The itch to text the girl was already plaguing her. It would be hard to get used to not talking to Momo, even if only for a little bit, and the thought actually made her heart ache. She could only hope Mina would keep Momo happy for now.
“I didn’t know Sana was in a class with you,” Jihyo replied, shaking Sana out of her thoughts. Mina’s roommate had finished eating and was getting ready to move her laptop back into her bedroom.
“Mmhmm,” was all Sana said, hoping Jihyo wouldn’t press too much. Luckily the girl didn’t seem to be that suspicious. “Just an elective. What are you working on?”
“Just this research paper that’s driving me crazy. I hate APA.”
Sana felt the girl’s pain, knowing all too well the frustration of having to write papers in formats outside of MLA. Intrigued, Sana walked into the kitchen and peeked over Jihyo’s shoulder at her computer screen. Jihyo seemed surprised by this, looking back at Sana curiously. Sana knew the topic of the paper, being a law student as well, but she kept her mouth shut and tried to act as though what she was reading went over her head.
“Doesn’t look fun at all. Well, I’m gonna go take a shower,” she announced, heading back into Mina’s room to grab what she needed.
Jihyo watched her go with a raised eyebrow, as there was an unusual perk in her step.
◆◆◆
Walking into Sana’s apartment, Mina tried hard to not feel as though she were breaking in. Sana’s roommate, who was waiting for her in the kitchen with a scrutinizing look on her face, didn’t make it any easier.
“Um, hello,” Mina offered, gulping at the glare the stranger was giving her.
Nayeon’s dark brown hair fell well past her shoulders, and she was dressed in pink pajamas while wearing bunny-slippers. She looked anything but terrifying, really, but Mina wouldn’t underestimate her.
“Momo texted me that you had to cancel your plans because you’re sick. She also told me she dropped you off here almost an hour ago.” There wasn’t even a hello. Nayeon was straight to the point, apparently.
Mina was not expecting to be interrogated after stepping one foot inside. She took a breath, trying to hold back her annoyance at having to deal with drama that wasn’t even her own. “I accidentally dropped something on my way to the studio,” she replied. “I fell on my way there earlier and dropped my...sunglasses. They fell out of my purse. Luckily they were still there when I went back to look for them.” To prove a point, Mina reached into Sana’s purse and pulled out a pair of sunglasses she had spotted in there earlier.
Nayeon didn’t look convinced, because walking back to the studio would definitely not take an hour, but her suspicious expression softened slightly. “I covered for you, don’t worry,” she assured. “As far as Momo knows, you’ve been here since she dropped you off.”
That was a relief. Mina didn’t want to cause any trouble for Sana, afterall. “Thanks for not saying anything,” she said, genuinely thankful.
“That girl is sickeningly in love with you,” Nayeon continued. “She was practically begging me to baby you tonight since you wouldn’t let her. Make her hot chocolate but don’t forget the little marshmallows, you know how much she loves that .” Nayeon made her best effort at imitating Momo, and Mina had to admit it was pretty spot on. She couldn’t help but bite back a grin.
Mina remembered what Sana had said, to be snappy. She put on a smug expression, looking at Nayeon challengingly. “Well, are you gonna make me that hot chocolate or what?”
Rolling her eyes, Nayeon rested her elbows on the counter and continued to glare at Mina. “Maybe if you were actually sick, I would have.”
“We both know that’s not true,” Mina countered, playfully. She was going out on a limb here, not really knowing what Sana and Nayeon’s dynamic was exactly, but it felt right.
Nayeon pouted, “I do baby you sometimes!” she insisted. “I guess if you really want some hot chocolate—”
“I’m kidding, Nayeon,” Mina insisted, with a small smile on her face. “I don’t want any.”
“Honestly, talking about it made me want some, anyway. I’ll make us both a cup, sound good?” she got up from her seat, walking toward a cabinet to pull out two mugs without waiting for an answer.
The thought of a nice warm cup of hot chocolate did sound pretty good. Mina bounced on her toes once before she went over to Sana’s room to take off the girl’s coat and set down her purse.
Sana’s room was slightly messier than Mina’s, but not by much. There was a slim, floor-length mirror leaning against the wall, and a large corkboard bulletin hung above her desk with various pictures of Sana and Momo pinned up to it. A few different outfit options were thrown onto the bed—clearly Sana was indecisive about what she wore today and it had taken her a few outfit changes before she was finally satisfied.
Mina hung up Sana’s coat, and set down her purse on the bed. She took a closer look at the pictures hanging up, looking at how happy Momo and Sana appeared. They did look adorable together, and though Mina may have had a little, lingering crush on Momo, she was truly happy for them both. They deserved each other.
“You gonna drink this or what?” Nayeon called from the kitchen. Mina immediately headed back out, greeted by the sound of a spoon clinking against the edges of a mug.
One mug was blue, the other was green. Sure enough, each one had little rabbit-shaped marshmallows floating on top of the surface of the hot chocolate. “Thank you,” Mina said, putting her hands around the green mug and instantly feeling the heat spread through her body. She sighed with relief, breathing in the steam rising up from the drink. “This is just what I needed.”
“Rough day?” Nayeon asked, bringing her mug carefully over to the living room and setting it on the coffee table. She looked back at Mina, waiting for her to follow. As Nayeon sat on the couch, Mina walked over, mug in hand.
“You could say that,” Mina replied.
Nayeon blew on the top of the hot chocolate a bit before taking a cautious sip. She smacked her lips together, satisfied. “Issues with Momo?”
“No, no,” Mina quickly assured. “Things are fine.” At least, Mina had never seen any sort of indication that things weren’t alright between the couple. They always seemed perfectly happy when they were together. She had no reason to think things weren’t going well.
Sana’s best friend took another sip of her drink, not taking her eyes off of Mina while she did so. “Right, cause faking sick to get out of your dinner date is a really good indicator that things are going well,” she said, sarcastically.
Mina began to blow on her own hot chocolate, and allowed herself a small sip. She burned the tip of her tongue, wincing. “I really am not feeling well though,” she assured. “I...fell down some stairs on my way to meet Momo and hit my head kind of hard.”
“Of course you did,” Nayeon murmured. “That’s when you dropped your sunglasses.”
Mina made a decision then—Nayeon wasn’t gonna drop the subject if she didn’t think of a better excuse. She had to be more creative. “When I slipped, this other girl tried to pull me up but I accidentally took her down with me. She actually found my sunglasses after I left and took them home with her. She let me know she had them so I met her to grab them, and we talked for a bit.”
“Aha! A generous mystery girl,” Nayeon replied. “Who was it? Someone I’d know?”
Mina shook her head adamantly. “No, you wouldn’t know her.”
“What’s her name?” Wow, Nayeon really was nosey.
Taking another sip of her hot chocolate, Mina sighed. “Her name is Mina. She’s in the class Momo is a TA for.”
Nayeon hummed, satisfied. The hot chocolate was finally cool enough that it could slip down her throat easily. “I’ll let this one slide this time, Minatozaki. But I’m watching you.”
Mina just shook her head in faux annoyance. “Alright, whatever you say.”
They chatted a bit more, changing the subject to Nayeon’s day. Mina learned the girl was majoring in education for children with disabilities. She also had a part time job at a restaurant in town and she had a lot to say about her afternoon shift.
Finally, when Mina started yawning, she figured it’d be a good time to retire for the night. She put her mug in the sink, thanked Nayeon for making the hot chocolate, and said goodnight. “You should get to bed soon too, isn’t your 8AM tomorrow?” Mina asked, before she closed Sana’s bedroom door. She felt slightly cheeky for remembering the detail Sana had mentioned to her earlier.
“God, don’t remind me,” Nayeon groaned. “Goodnight!”
Mina got changed into something warm for bed. She hesitated to use Sana’s toothbrush but told herself that technically her germs were Sana’s germs now anyway. She bit the bullet and brushed her teeth, avoiding eye contact with the mirror completely.
As she washed her face, she finally looked at her reflection. She was slowly getting used to it, but it was still a strange feeling. Hopefully she’d be back to normal tomorrow. She’d wake up in her own bed, and forget this whole night as if it were all a crazy dream. She held onto that hope as she shut off Sana’s bedroom lights and tucked herself into the twin-sized bed.
Checking Sana’s phone for the first time since she talked to Nayeon, Mina noticed she had received a few new messages. One was from Momo, asking how she was doing. Mina quickly replied to let her know that she was okay, and that Nayeon had even made her hot chocolate. With a dopey grin on her face, she added a heart emoji to the end of the message. She figured Sana would probably do something like that, judging by the past few messages in the conversation thread that Mina happened to see.
Sana had also sent her a text, hoping all went well with Nayeon and wishing Mina a good night.
Mina set an alarm for 9AM, plugged in Sana’s phone for the night, and laid her head down on one of Sana’s pillows...hoping that sleep would come soon.
She slipped into a light sleep, after what felt like hours staring into the darkness.
Mina dreamt of Momo, looking at her with fondness like she did today. The way Momo normally looked at Sana. But there was no body switching hijinks, just Mina as she was. And Momo’s tender touch. It was almost as if Mina could feel it now. A slight graze down her hip. Fingertips brushing along her shoulder. Moving hair off of her neck so Momo could delicately place her lips upon it. Each kiss was in a different spot, as if to cover every exposed inch of skin.
The lips felt so real. It was as though she could really feel warm breath on her neck, and a presence behind her, indenting the mattress. It was almost...too real.
Mina opened her eyes slowly, suddenly struck with a sickening panic. There was someone beside her on the bed, really kissing her neck. This was not a dream. Holding her breath for a moment, she debated if she should scream and run away, or just run away quietly and keep the element of surprise. Was there any sort of weapon she could grab in the room if things went south?
She counted to three, letting the mystery person kiss her neck once more before she sprang into action, screaming and leaping for the door. The room was nearly pitch black save for a small nightlight, so she accidentally tripped on Sana’s desk chair in the process and swore under her breath.
“Sana?” the person laying on the bed called, and Mina froze.
She let herself sink onto the carpet, holding back crazed and relieved laughter. “Momo? What the hell!” she cried, turning around to look in the direction of the bed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she cooed, getting off the bed and sliding down beside Mina, who was curled up on the floor. “You’ve never gotten scared before.”
So this was something that happened before? Momo sneaking into Sana’s bed without warning? How did she even get in here?
“Jesus,” Mina muttered. Her heart was still racing, and she was wired from the burst of adrenaline. “Sorry, you just really took me off guard.”
She’d have to yell at Sana first thing tomorrow morning for not giving her a warning about this, whether they switched back or not.
“I know you’re sick, but that doesn’t matter to me,” Momo assured. “And when you texted me you let Nayeon take care of you but you didn’t let me, I got jealous. You normally like it when I surprise you, too…”
Sana’s bedroom door swung open, starling Mina and Momo both. “What the hell is going on?” Nayeon cried, standing in the doorway with a kitchen knife in hand. “Oh, Momo,” she said, sounding completely unsurprised to see the girl on the floor beside Mina. This really must’ve been a regular occurance.
“I’m sorry,” Mina mumbled. “I just...got scared.”
“It’s okay,” Momo assured, cupping Mina’s cheeks in her hands. “I shouldn’t have snuck in tonight.”
“I really thought you were being murdered,” Nayeon replied, sighing with relief. “Well, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going back to bed. I have to wake up in four hours.” The girl shuffled away after swinging the door shut behind her.
“Let’s get you back into bed,” Momo said, gently lifting Mina up and guiding her back toward the small mattress. Mina let Momo hold her. She was too tired to shy away at this point. Momo covered her up and crawled in beside her so that their bodies were touching. The bed was so small that it didn’t really allow either of them much personal space at all. “Is it okay if I stay, or do you want me to go?”
Mina swallowed, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to ignore the fact that she was laying in bed with Momo. “You should stay,” Mina whispered.
In her mind, she told herself it was for Sana’s sake that she let Momo stay. Making Momo leave now would surely only put a strain on Sana and Momo’s relationship, wouldn’t it? Mina didn’t want that.
Nevermind how soft Momo’s skin felt against hers. Nevermind that Mina’s neck still burned in every spot Momo had so much as grazed her lips upon. Nevermind that Mina had daydreamed about this moment countless times before and now it was finally a reality.
This was for Sana.