Mina enters the vehicle with such adrenaline rush flowing into her system. It was the same with Mr. Lim who didn't waste anymore time as he sat down on the driver's seat, looking more serious than usual. They both know how they did their best to stay on Tzuyu's side whenever her dad's also in the picture. But it seemed like no matter how hard they try to avoid the inevitable, they'll never be able to trick their way out of Tzuyu's recurring past.
"Miss Mina, I deeply apologize for intervening your date with Chaeyoung." The man breaks the silence between them. "It's just that, I know how Miss Chou and her father shows their disinterest with each other. And I know that you're the only one who can keep them from doing unexpected things that they might regret in the near future."
Mina looks at rear-view mirror with an almost blank face. There's just something about this series of unfortunate events that's bugging her. Let alone at how her uncle immediately came back with Tzuyu even though he rarely takes a step inside their mansion.
"No worries, Mr. Lim." Mina snaps her mind back to reality. "Well actually, thank you for calling me as soon as possible. We surely don't want for Tzuyu to do the same thing she did for the last couple of years, right?"
The man spares a second to glance at Mina from the back. With a nod, he replies with the same amount of doubt in his mind. "I do agree with that." His eyes immediately went back on the road for safety. "But wouldn't it be better if Miss Sana's also here with you? Maybe she can help you prevent Tzuyu from..."
The penguin looks on the other side of the car window. A part of her thinks that Sana's presence would greatly help her cool off Tzuyu's overthinking mind. But then again, it was her uncle who they are talking about. She couldn't afford to add another burden on Tzuyu's back just because of her impulsive decisions.
"I'd like to consider your suggestion, Mr. Lim." She replies back. "But I don't think pulling Sana into this 'family issue' is a great plan for now. All we can do is to hope that we're not late enough to witness how Tzuyu locks herself up in her room again for another month straight."
Mina shakes her head to remove the memories of the past. It had been years since Tzuyu's habit of isolating herself up whenever she's too scared or distressed had started. And up until now, she's still not sure if Tzuyu had already changed by improving herself or she had just gotten better in hiding those unspoken frustrations.
"I do hope that we're not late yet." Mr. Lim gently spoke. "To be honest, I'm not even sure if I'm ready to see her be stuck in the past for the third time, Miss Mina. She already went to different countries before just to forget about her trauma, and I'm afraid that it'll all go back to her once Mr. Chou triggers something inside Miss Chou's memory."
Mina slowly nods at every words spoken by the man. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Mr. Lim was right. If they'll be late--even a second late from arriving at their mansion, Tzuyu might need to leave Korea for good and never come back. Partially same as how she left her when they were still kids.
"Good morning, Tzuyu. Time to wake up!" The younger Mina greets in a hushed manner. Tapping the younger's shoulder excitedly, it was obvious that Tzuyu seemed to be enjoying her deep slumber pretty well. "Yoda, it's already eight in the morning. We didn't ate any breakfasts yet."
The younger Tzuyu groans at the noise created. Can't Mina see that she's not in the mood for foods today? "Mina unnie, we just cleaned up the pantry last night." She complains, hands reaching for a pillow to cover her ears.
