Rental Love

"Sana, wake up." Momo gently shook her best friend's shoulder. "The line for merchandise will be so long if we come late."

"Let me sleep a little longer. I'm tired," Sana replied without opening her eyes. She then buried her face in the pillow.

Momo just smiled while shaking her head a little. She knew how tired Sana had been the past few days. Her best friend had taken more clients than usual because she needed extra money to buy merchandise on Jihyo's concert day. It was a little crazy that Sana would do anything for her favorite idol.

"Okay, I'll take a shower first. After that, I'll come back to wake you up again," Momo said before getting up from Sana's bed. She then bent down and kissed Sana's temple while gently caressing her hair. Her best friend didn't give any reaction. Only a few soft snores were heard from her.

Ever since her talk with Nayeon that day, Momo felt much braver to be affectionate towards Sana. She started doing little gestures again to show how much she cared for Sana. All her fears didn’t immediately disappear after Nayeon talked to her. The fear of rejection was still there. She still didn’t dare to confess her feelings directly to her best friend and she thought there was no point in doing so (Sana was already happy with someone else).  But if Sana could pick up on them, she wouldn't mind it. Nayeon said that her feelings weren’t a bad thing and she wanted to believe her (even though she didn’t have to).

—————————

"Momo, why didn't you wake me up? We're going to be late!" Sana exclaimed, suddenly entering the bathroom.

At that time, Momo was washing her hair. The shampoo was already foaming in her hair and she closed her eyes so that nothing would get into them. "I woke you up earlier, but you said you wanted to sleep a little longer," she said while opening her right eye slightly to look at Sana. She saw her best friend taking off her clothes.

"I don't remember you doing that. You should have woken me up until I was fully awake." Sana took off the last piece of clothing before walking over to Momo and pulling her away from the shower. She stood under it afterward and turned it on. She let the water run over her entire body.

"You were pretty tired, Sana. You deserved to get some rest." Momo closed her right eye again and massaged her scalp.

"But the line must be really long now. I'm too lazy to wait in line for hours." Sana turned off the shower and started soaping her entire body.

"Don't worry about that. I'll wait in line for you." Momo suddenly stopped massaging her scalp. She opened her eyes slightly before walking over to Sana and hugging her from behind. She rested her chin on her best friend's shoulder. "Just give me your card and I'll buy all the merchandise you want. You just have to sit and wait for me."

Sana's hands stopped moving. She shifted her gaze to Momo's arms that were wrapped around her waist. She smiled as she slowly held them. "You know, you've been very affectionate towards me lately. What's going on? Don't tell me you're falling in love with me." She giggled as she brushed her thumbs against Momo's forearms. She knew Momo would say that it was impossible or something along the lines of.

"Maybe I am."

Or she had no idea what Momo was going to say at all.

Sana was left frozen for a few beats. That was something she didn't expect to come out of Momo's mouth. She always thought her best friend hated the idea of ​​anything romantic happening between them, even if it was just a joke. But why did she suddenly say something like that? What caused her to have a sudden change of heart?

Before Sana could give any response, Momo already picked her up and spun them around so their backs were facing the shower. She then put Sana back on the floor and kissed her neck. Sana's cheeks quickly flushed after that. It was something she wasn't used to getting from her best friend. It made her heart beat erratically.

"Hurry up so we won't be too late," Momo said before she released her arms from Sana's waist and turned around. She then turned on the shower again and rinsed her hair.

—————————

Sana didn't know what made Momo change so suddenly. All she knew was that her best friend had started to change since the day they made up. She remembered Momo promising to treat her better, but this wasn't what she had imagined. She didn't imagine that Momo would be so affectionate towards her. It brought back all her old desires: to ask her out, to kiss her on the lips, to touch her, to make love to her, and to be hers completely.

Then what about Nayeon? Here’s the weird part. She wanted Nayeon as much as she wanted Momo. She’d never felt this way before with any of her exes. The feelings she had for them were never as strong as the feelings she had for her best friend. However, Nayeon was different. She already had strong feelings for her and she was falling more and more in love with her as time went by. That made her afraid to take their relationship to the next level, to make it official. If she got serious with Nayeon, then what about Momo? What would happen to her? She’d never thought about such questions when she was dating her exes because she could see that their relationships wouldn’t last long. However, Nayeon was a special case because she could see a future with that girl (but where was Momo in that future?).

"Hey, a penny for your thoughts?"

Sana suddenly felt two warm hands on her cheeks and it immediately pulled her out of a trance. She looked up to see Nayeon smiling at her, her thumbs gently caressing her cheeks. Behind Nayeon, there was a girl she had never seen before.

"Nayeonnie! Sorry, I didn't see you." She chuckled before bringing her gaze to the girl behind Nayeon. "Your friend?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh." Nayeon's face suddenly lit up. She took a step back, put a hand on her best friend's back, and pushed her forward. "My best friend since high school, Yoo Jeongyeon," she introduced.

Jeongyeon held out her hand with a smile. "You must be Sana? It's nice to finally meet you. Nayeon told me a lot about you."

Sana reached for Jeongyeon's hand and shook it. "Good things I hope?" She tilted her head slightly with a smile.

Jeongyeon nodded before taking a glance at her best friend. "She's too head over heels for you to say the bad things." She chuckled as she slowly pulled her hand back. "Nayeon said you came with your best friend. Why are you alone?"

"Oh, right. Where's Momo?" Nayeon looked around them, but saw no sign of Momo.

"She's waiting in line to buy me merchandise." Sana nodded towards where Momo was standing. Nayeon easily spotted her. "I haven't had much sleep these past few days so Momo told me to sit down and save my energy for the concert."

"How long has she been waiting in line?" Nayeon asked. Her eyes were on Momo who was shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"I think about 30 minutes? I went there a few times to keep her company, but she always told me to just sit down."

Nayeon hummed as she brought her gaze back to Sana. "Do you mind if I go over there and keep her company? Jeongyeon will be here with you. I promise she's a nice person despite her looks." Jeongyeon glared at her after that.

Sana shook her head with a big smile. "I'd love it if you did that. Momo must be really bored right now."

—————————

Momo had been fiddling with her bracelet for a few minutes. She was bored, but she didn’t want to call Sana to kill her boredom. She had caught her best friend dozing off a few times while they were on the bus so she wanted her to get some rest before the show started.

She looked around and saw people talking to each other like they had known each other for ages. Momo wasn’t the type to strike up a conversation with strangers. So, she just quietly listened to the conversations around her to keep her busy. She wondered if Nayeon had come to see Sana yet. (She also wondered if Nayeon was currently lending her shoulder to her best friend. Her stomach churned at that thought.)

"Oh, you're wearing that bracelet!"

Momo yelped as she felt something cold touch her cheek. She turned her face to the side and found a can of soda right in front of her face.

"Oops, sorry. Is it too cold?" Nayeon moved the can away from Momo's face. She then placed her hand on the affected cheek. The warmth of her hand spread quickly to Momo's cheek.

Momo had a puzzled look on her face. The first thing that came to her mind was the question of why Nayeon was there and not with Sana. "What are you doing here?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"To keep you company?" She gave Momo's cheek a few strokes with her thumb before pulling her hand away. Momo's heart fluttered a little bit at that gesture.

"Then what about Sana? Did you just leave her alone?" Momo crossed her arms over her chest. The frown on her forehead deepened.

Nayeon shook her head as she pulled Momo's forearm to uncross her arms. "She's with my best friend right now. They're giving out freebies there." She nodded her head towards Sana and Jeongyeon who were busy talking and giving out freebies. After that, she put the can she had been holding in Momo's hand. "For you. Sana said you didn't bring any drinks. So I bought you this."

Momo just stared at that can for a moment before she gripped it tightly and looked up. "Thanks.." she said in a small voice. "You should go back to Sana." It was the most logical thing for Nayeon to do. Why should Nayeon spend time with the best friend of the girl she was seeing?

"And leave you alone? I won't do that."

"But you should be with Sana, not me."

"I don't want you to be alone, Momo." Nayeon gave her a stern look. "I can't send my best friend here to keep you company either. You two don't know each other."

"Sana doesn't know your best friend either, but you left her alone with her." Momo narrowed her eyes. She was in protective-bestie mode.

"I've introduced them to each other before I came here. Besides, you already know how outgoing Sana is. They'll become friends in no time." Nayeon put her hand on Momo's back before pushing her forward. Apparently, the line had moved and Momo didn't notice because they were busy talking. "So, let me stay here with you so you don't get bored. I'll also help you carry all the merchandise later, okay?"

Momo sighed in defeat. She thought it shouldn't be like this, but she didn't have any other arguments she could come up with. So, she just let it happen. In the end, she was grateful that Nayeon was there to keep her company. They talked about a lot of things and Momo got to know the girl better. She understood more and more why Sana was falling for her. Nayeon had a lot of good qualities that Momo clearly didn’t have. That made the latter start to think that it was the reason Sana never saw her in that way. (Sadly, she didn't know how wrong she was.)

—————————

They would be friends in no time was a true statement. It only took Sana and Jeongyeon an hour of chatting to become friends. They hadn't stopped talking since Nayeon left to meet Momo. They had discussed so many topics, but they still didn't seem to run out of things to talk about.

"Momo used to be really shy. When we were kids, she would always hide behind me. That made me want to protect her." Sana giggled as she looked back on the past.

"Did anyone ever pick on her?" Jeongyeon asked out of curiosity.

Sana hummed as she tapped her chin. "I don't think so.. Oh!" She suddenly remembered something. "There was this one boy in our middle school who would always pick on Momo." Her face turned sour at the memory. "I would always bit back at him every time he said something rude to Momo. I would think of a lot of arguments to counter his remarks. I remember half of my arguments didn'teven make sense, but I always managed to shut him up." She chuckled at the last statement.

"All brats are like that. They're just stupid." Jeongyeon shook her head in disappointment before turning her gaze towards the line to check where Nayeon and Momo were. It turned out that the two of them had finished buying merchandise and were walking towards Jeongyeon and Sana. "Hey, they're back." Jeongyeon poked Sana's arm to get her attention.

Sana turned to face them and her face immediately lit up. "Oh, Momoring! Nayeonnie!" She waved her hand excitedly. "Did you guys get everything I wanted?"

At the same time, Nayeon and Momo raised the plastic bags they were holding. "Their merchandise is almost sold out because of you," Nayeon said while shaking her head.

The two of them finally arrived in front of Sana and Jeongyeon. They then put the plastic bags on the ground. Sana quickly peeked at the bags one by one to check if they had bought everything she wanted.

“Thank youuu,” Sana said cutely while holding Momo and Nayeon’s hands.

“No big deal.” Momo smiled as she ruffled Sana’s hair with her free hand.

After Sana let go of their hands, Nayeon tapped Momo’s shoulder to get her attention. “I want you to meet my best friend.” She then stood next to Jeongyeon and put her hand on her shoulder. “This is Yoo Jeongyeon. My best friend since high school.”

It took Momo a few seconds to recognize the face. Jeongyeon was the bartender who served her drinks that night. The girl clearly saw all the embarrassing things she did in the bar. Her cheeks quickly flushed at that memory. She thought Jeongyeon would definitely mention the incident soon.

"Hi, I'm Jeongyeon. Sana just told me a lot about you." Jeongyeon held out her hand with a big smile. It turned out that Momo was wrong. The girl didn't even seem to remember her.

Momo reached for Jeongyeon's hand and shook it nervously. "I'm Momo. She didn't tell you any embarrassing stories, right?" She threw a glare at her best friend before bringing her gaze back to Jeongyeon. She didn't want to feel even more embarrassed.

"I was just telling her how you used to hide behind me when we were kids." Sana giggled and Momo had a pout on her face. "Hey, it's not embarrassing!" Sana continued, but she got a light smack on her arm after that.

"Are you guys done giving out freebies?" Nayeon asked Jeongyeon and Sana.

"Yeah, we are. I took one for myself." Jeongyeon showed them the bracelet she was wearing. "And I took one for Ji." It was the nickname Nayeon and Jeongyeon used for Jihyo. There was an unspoken agreement between them not to reveal that the idol was actually their best friend.

"So, what are we going to do now? The show is still two hours away." Nayeon took a look at her watch before she lifted her head and looked at the three of them.

"Let's just hang out at a nearby cafe and come back here an hour before the show starts," Jeongyeon suggested. They all quickly agreed and went to the closest cafe they could find.

After they hung out at the said cafe, they went back to the venue and waited for some staff to let them into the concert arena. They then went their separate ways. Sana and Momo went to the standing section while Nayeon and Jeongyeon went to the seating section. They promised to meet up again after the show was over.

—————————

"Hey, you always give them meat, but you never give me any," Jeongyeon grumbled as she pointed the tongs she was holding at Nayeon.

"Can't you see what you're holding?" Nayeon pointed the tongs in her hand at the tongs in Jeongyeon's hand. "You can cook your own meat. They can't because there are only two pairs of tongs here." She went back to putting the raw meat on the grill.

"We can take turns, you know." Sana giggled as she watched the meat sizzling on the grill. "Momo and I can cook for you guys."

“It’s okay. Let us cook—” Nayeon couldn’t finish her sentence because Momo suddenly snatched the tongs from her hand. Their hands brushed for a second, but the sensation lingered for a minute. (Nayeon had been questioning why she kept feeling this sensation every time they touched.)

“You haven’t eaten anything since earlier. You should eat now,” Momo said as she flipped the meat on the grill. Nayeon gave her a disapproving look.

“Relax,” Sana said with a smile. She then poured soju into a shot glass. “I know you like it when people lean on you, but you don’t have to do all the work.” She pushed the shot glass toward Nayeon.

“You tell her, Sana,” Jeongyeon said as she placed the cooked meat onto Nayeon’s plate.

Nayeon eventually gave in and let them take turns cooking the meat. After they ran out of meat and finished eating, they spent the rest of their time chatting and drinking soju. In the end, Sana and Jeongyeon went home a little drunk. Momo and Nayeon had to stay by their side to keep them from doing anything embarrassing.

—————————

Sana has been super clingy towards Momo ever since they got home. After Momo removed her makeup, changed her clothes, and tucked her in, she wouldn’t stop hugging Momo and begging her to sleep with her that night. Her best friend easily gave in to her wish in the end. Ever since Momo sat on her bed and started playing some games on  Switch, she wouldn’t stop talking about whatever came to her mind.

“You know I love you, right? Even more than Jihyo!” Sana giggled as she traced circles on Momo’s thigh. At that time, she was lying next to her best friend. “That’s the biggest compliment you could get from me.”

"Really?" Momo asked without looking away from her Switch. "If Jihyo and I were drowning, would you choose to save me first?"

Sana lightly slapped Momo's thigh after that. "Hey, that's not fair. That's a tough question!" She pouted cutely.

Momo chuckled before she turned her face to Sana. "But you said you love me more than Jihyo."

Sana huffed as she lowered her gaze. "What I mean is.." She trailed off. Her fingers went back to tracing circles on her best friend's thigh. "Jihyo is so pretty, but you're prettier! Didn't you catch me staring at you a few times during the concert? I really wanted to kiss you back then."

Momo sighed before lifting one of her hands and placing it on Sana's head. She then ruffled her best friend's hair playfully. "You're drunk, Sana. You're talking nonsense right now." She giggled as she pulled her hand away and put it back on one side of her Switch.

"I know, but I really love you!" Sana slowly buried her face on the side of Momo's thigh.

"And I love you too. Always." Momo took a glance at her best friend and smiled. After that, she went back to focusing on her game. At that time, she was playing Animal Crossing and she was doing her self-made daily tasks.

"Oh." Momo noticed something that wasn't there when she first started playing the game. She saw that there was a new letter in her mailbox. She moved her character towards the mailbox after that and opened it. "Nayeon?" She chuckled when she found out who had just sent her a letter.

Dear Momo,

I don't know when you'll read this letter. I just wanted to check in on both of you. How are you guys doing? Is Sana currently having a hangover? By the way, I made you a bowl of (virtual) seaweed soup. Let me know if you guys want me to make you a real one hehe

From Nayeon

After Momo read the letter, she received a gift in her inventory. She then opened the gift and found that Nayeon had indeed sent her a bowl of seaweed soup. She laughed softly at how silly Nayeon was.

"Momoring, I'm going to sleep now. Don't leave me, okay?" Sana said in her sleepy voice.

"I won't, Satang." Momo placed her Switch on her thighs before leaning down to kiss Sana's temple. "Sleep tight," she said her sweetest voice.

Momo took her Switch off her thighs and went back to playing her game. She started writing a letter to reply to Nayeon not long after that.

Dear Nayeon,

Why aren't you sleeping yet? Sana just went to bed. I think she'll have a hangover tomorrow. She was pretty drunk earlier.

From Momo

Momo went back to doing her daily tasks because she thought Nayeon might not be playing anymore. But it turned out that Nayeon replied to her letter in just a few minutes.

Dear Momo,

You're not sleeping either lol. Can I visit your island right now? It'll be easier for us to talk if I go there. (Exchanging letters like this takes a long time T.T)

From Nayeon

And that's how they ended up playing the game together until late at night (Can it really be called playing though? They just talked all night through in-game chat). Momo only slept a few hours after their gaming session ended because Sana suddenly screamed and woke her up. It turned out that Sana saw Jihyo's latest post on Instagram and found her favorite idol wearing a bracelet that was similar to the one she made.

"I swear this is the bracelet I made a few days ago! How did she get this bracelet?" Sana said frantically.

"Seriously, Sana.. you woke me up just because of this?" Momo clicked her tongue. She then hid her entire head under the pillow. She thought her best friend was just experiencing some kind of post-concert depression.