“She packed her clothes in her suitcase

Then put that case in her car

She says she’s gonna get so far gone

Oh so, far gone that she don’t even care how far.”

—“Where Did You Go”

Rosé tells Sana that she can move in the next day, and Sana is still too dazed to actually do anything but nod.

It isn’t until later, when she’s in her soon-to-be-former room, surrounded by her boxes, that the reality of the situation begins to sink in.

She lies on her bed, hands covering her face as she muffles a scream.

Tomorrow, she’s going to be living with Dahyun Kim.

Dahyun is well-known in campus, which is impressive, given that it is a large campus. It’s even more impressive, what with her being just a second year, but well. That’s to be expected, Sana supposes. Dahyun’s the younger sister of Jennie Kim, baseball varsity superstar. They are children of the college chancellor, and they both have sharp eyes and sharper minds.

Dahyun double majors in philosophy and engineering, and she’s a member of the archery team, and she’s really cute and insanely attractive and Sana is going to lose her goddamn mind.

And it’s not like she hasn’t interacted with Dahyun, no. They actually run in the same social circle, because, well, Sana herself is popular on campus. So yes, they have the same group of friends, though different main squad, if that makes sense.

And Dahyun throws the best parties too, you know, and Sana is invited to the best parties because she’s Sana, and all her friends are popular too. (And not in a, like, snooty way. It just. Sort of happens. Sana likes her friends, and they like her, so it all works out.)

So they’ve talked before, and they can even be considered friends, or perhaps at least a level above acquaintances.

(Sana’s rooting for the friends option, of course.)

(A part of Sana—deep within, perhaps buried with like fifty tons of unresolved emotional issues—scoffs at this.

A larger part—the part who likes to party and flirt with strangers without getting attached because it’s easier to avoid getting hurt this way—willfully ignores this.)

Given that, Sana still grapples with the idea of living with the girl, because. Well.

Sana’s been harbouring a crush on her since quite literally running into her one morning during Dahyun’s first year, and it may be just a tiny crush but it’s a crush nonetheless, and Sana is really freaking out.

She’s contemplating shooting Rosé a message to tell Dahyun the deal is off, but then she remembers seeing Dahyun pout because she lost a game against her sister, and Sana would hate to have that pout on her conscience.

It’s cute, but also incredibly guilt-inducing, and so Sana decides that she has to make this work, if only to prevent Dahyun from pouting like that.

(The fact that she’d be homeless otherwise comes as a second consideration, as it were.)

Sana gets a text a little after noon the next day, from an unknown number.

UNKNOWN

Hey, is this Minatozaki Sana-sunbaenim?

YOU

Yes? Who’s this?

UNKNOWN

This is Dahyun.

Rosé-unnie gave me your number.

I hope that’s okay.

YOU

Oh hi, Dahyun-san!

Yes, it’s okay. And thank you for agreeing

to this! It means a lot!

DAHYUN KIM

No big deal! Also, about that,

Jeong-unnie and Jihyo-unnie are

on their way to pick you up. I hope

you’re okay with that.

YOU

Sure! Thanks again!

It takes two trips to get everything, because neatly packed as they were, Sana’s stuff are still a lot. Good thing Jeongyeon and Jihyo are two very methodical people, or else nothing would have been done. Jeongyeon’s pickup car has plenty of space too, so that helps cut down the time needed.

Dahyun welcomes them with a smile, and Sana feels the wind knocked right out of her, for whoa, she really is beautiful, isn’t she? Dahyun has eagle-sharp eyes, and her jaw can probably cut Sana. She looks like a marble statue with her white skin and chiseled features, and how—how can Sana survive living with the incarnation of perfection?

She’s wearing a yellow oversized jumper and grey yoga pants, and her bare feet look so small and dainty, and Sana should really say something instead of staring at her like a damn creep.

“Uh, hi,” Sana greets. And mentally slaps herself, because awkward.

“Hi, sunbae!” Dahyun’s smile is infectious; it’s like she’s radiating sunshine, and Sana is the earth begging for her warmth. “Thank you for agreeing to this!”

“I should be the one thanking you, Dahyun-san,” Sana says. “You’re literally saving me from homelessness, you know.”

“Ah, a vagrant at the tender age of 23,” Dahyun agrees in faux-lamentation, before bursting into a giggle that should be considered a weapon of mass destruction for how it disarms Sana, who laughs too because she can’t help herself and also can’t take her eyes off Dahyun Kim’s very beautiful face, with eyes like crescent moons and a smile like god’s gift on earth.

Sana, it seems, is too entranced by Dahyun that she forgets that they’re not alone until Jeongyeon pointedly clears , and Jihyo laughs heartily at the way Sana jerks back as if electrocuted.

“Sorry for bursting your bubble, lovebirds,” Jeongyeon drawls, carrying another box of Sana’s stuff, Jihyo right behind her with a gym bag, “but can you not flirt while we’re working, you’re getting in the way, thank you.” They easily maneuver around Sana, who is still stuck by the doorway (and if her cheeks gain a pink hue to them, then that is so not her fault now, is it?), and take their cargoes into what she assumes will be her bedroom.

“Second door to the left’s going to be yours,” Dahyun informs her, confirming her thoughts. “I took the liberty of clearing out unnie’s leftover mess, though the curtains are still there. Is that okay?”

“Yes, of course.” Sana bows her head. “I really can’t thank you enough for this, Dahyun-san.”

“Please, sunbae, it’s just Dahyun,” Dahyun says, “and I should thank you also, for saving me from unnie’s abandonment.”

“Then you can drop the sunbae too, you know.” Sana laughs, winks playfully. She doesn’t know where the courage is stemming from, but she adds, “I can be your unnie instead.”

And then the most interesting thing happens: Dahyun’s porcelain-white cheeks grow red, blood rushing quickly, and it is a sight to behold, for she suddenly looks so shy and so small and Sana really wants to hug her, how can Dahyun be so adorable, and then Dahyun says, “Sure, unnie,” in this soft, velvety voice, and Sana swears her heart jumps right out of her chest.

She tries to get her heartbeat under control, which is not an easy thing, what with it going as if she’s run a marathon and then climbed a mountain, and Sana has seen her future, you know, dying because of Dahyun Kim and her pretty face.

And when she manages to say, “Just don’t tell Jennie about it, ’cause she’s real scary when she wants to be and I don’t wanna get murdered,” without stuttering, well.

Sana counts it as a personal victory.