**Mina couldn't hide the smile on her face anymore. She couldn't even believe she's thrilled to start reading the book that Ryujin lent her. She hadn't read the synopsis yet. But whatever it is, she's still excited to flip each page.**
**Why am I having this kind of excitement? She asked herself while driving home. And aside from being thrilled at reading the book, she also has this unexplainable thing while talking to this Son Chaeyoung. There's something in her smile that makes her smile, too. It's just so contagious. She shook her head before she jumped out of her car and entered her house.**
**There's no one to say 'I'm back home' and that makes her sad every single time she comes home. But this time, it's a bit different 'cause she doesn't seem to worry about it anymore. Like she doesn't care if there's no one's saying 'Welcome home!' or something. Her smile is still unerasable.**
**Before she laid the book on her nook and start making her dinner, she stared at the cover for several minutes first. Memorizing each letter embossed on it. Reading the title several times in her head, and then... and then tracing the name of the author at the bottom of the cover, 'C.Y. Son'. She smiled again. Imagine meeting the author first before reading one of their books is just so unbelievable and ridiculous at the same time.**
Mina: Stop it, Mina! Enough about these ridiculous thoughts. Let's get dressed and cook our dinner. I'm starving already.
**She whispered, and then slowly laid the book on her nook together with her car key.**
**She's living alone while Ryujin is still living with their parents. Well, she moved out of their house after she got the café and hotel with her. The thing is, it isn't the only reason she moved out. She had a lover, and they met several years ago at the University. They decided to move together after she finished her Culinary. It's the safest year for them to start their life under one roof. At least both of them are already professionals who can handle their expenses and no longer kids who still wait for their allowances.**
**It was her very first relationship, and she didn't regret risking everything for it. Her parents were against it at first. Who wouldn't? She's too gorgeous to fall in love with another gorgeous lady. And it's something that her parents didn't imagine even when she was still a little kid. There's no clue that it will happen. But as time goes by, they've seen Mina happy being with Jeong, so they let it go and started to be okay with it.**
**Unfortunately, not all stories with happy ending really ends with characters being happy. A year ago, a tragic accident happened. Jeong got involved in a drunk driving accident and she lost her life that night. It was the most devastating moment in Mina's life.**
**She zoned out herself to the world. Lost all the dreams she used to have even before she met Jeong. It was just a couple of months ago that she realized that life should still go on and that there are lots of people who need her. Her mom, dad, Ryujin, and all the people working for her, need her. If she continues to grieve with the death of the most important person in her life, everything that they both worked on will be gone. So one day, she got up in bed and promised to take care of everything and continue their dream.**
*****
**Chaeyoung laid in bed wanting to take a nap but failed to do so. She was so pre-occupied with the thought of this Mina, the owner of the hotel where she's staying.**
**This girl has a pretty smile, and what makes it even more beautiful is the way her eyes squint every time she gave her a gummy one.**
**Chaeng giggled before she shifted on her side. Couldn't believe that she'll at least end her day talking to her.**
**Well, Mina was too formal earlier this morning, so she never thought that they'll end up having a friendly conversation before the day ends.**
Chaeng: Aaah! Shut it, Chaeng! This is just like a summer vacation, and shouldn't expect more about it.
**But no matter how much she tells herself that she should not think about her, she kept on seeing her in her thoughts.**
Chaeng: I should go down and have my dinner.
**She pushed herself with her elbow. But since she's kind of floating in the air, she almost stumbles as she put all her weight on her right arm.**
Chaeng: Shit! You're being delusional, you know that?
**She'd never been in a relationship before since it's so rare for her to see men and women attractive. Or maybe she's just in the percentage of people who's not into a sexual relationship. Some kind of asexual actually. So being interested in someone is somewhat new to her, though all her books talk about love, she'd never been in one.**
*****
**Mina wasn't surprised when she heard her doorbell rang. She knows who it was, and no doubt about it. So even though she's busy cutting the asparagus in her kitchen, she put down her knife and dragged herself to the door to greet her guest.**
Sana: You didn't answer my call!
**Sana blurted out as Mina hold the door while she comes in. She was holding something in her hand. A lunchbox maybe, but Mina wasn't sure about it. All she knows is she brought something for her.**
Mina: What's that?
**Sana rolled her eyes. Her best friend always gives her the same thing every single time. Not answering according to what she's saying, and always asking questions that's out of context.**
Sana: I cooked something for us. Well, since you didn't come to my house yesterday, and I'm sure you're not interested to meet me sooner, so here I am.
**It's not that Mina doesn't want to see Sana. It's just, being alone somewhat became the new normal for her now. The last time they see each other was three weeks ago if she's not mistaken. That was when Sana visited her at the café, which means, they see each other again without her consent.**
**Sana walked straight to her kitchen to prepare the food she cooked for them.**
Sana: Hmm...
**She sniffed the buttered vegetable that Mina was preparing before she knocked on the door.**
Sana: This is what I've missed. Good thing I drover here.
**Then Mina stepped into her kitchen again and continued to prepare her dinner. Well, it's no longer only for her anymore. She needs to divide what she had cooked in two, so she could share it to Sana.**
Mina: Well, why don't you give me that so I could do the plating?
**Sana grinned. She likes the idea that she'll be able to sit at the nook while watching Mina do the job for her. Then she noticed the book lying at the corner of the counter.**
Sana: When did you learn to read?
**Then she picked up the book and examined it. It was covered in an almost bloody read paper, a bit darker, per se. Almost a maroon kind of red.**
**Mina shrugged. Didn't bother to shift her attention to her confused best friend. Well, there's also nothing to tell her.**
Sana: I haven't seen you flip a book even once. I mean, except for academic books, of course.
Mina: It was Ryujin's book. She lent me that earlier.
Sana: Hmm... okay. But why do you suddenly got interested in reading a book?
Mina: Can anyone have a change of heart? I mean, why not?
Sana: I don't know. It's just a bit strange, you know. And you're this someone who doesn't adapt to change easily.
Mina: Why don't you bring some plates to the table while I work on this?
**Well, Mina isn't sure why she couldn't be honest with Sana. Like telling her that she wants to read it because she already met the author. Instead, she just kept her silence like she's not thinking about how she's starting to get interested in this Son Chaeyoung.**
*****
**Chaeng isn't in the mood to go down to the café to eat her dinner anymore, so she just called the service line and ordered something on their menu. She thought it's better to eat in her room for now since she was so exhausted walking the entire day in town. Thank God a good shower lessen the exhaustion she's feeling.**
Chaeng: Hmm... this place is spoiling me. I think this is now my second favorite place.
**Of course, second to her apartment, even though her place is a mess ever since she locked out herself from everything around her. She's not cleaning it. Tzuyu even thinks that she's living in a dumpsite because the smell is so terrible.**
**"I don't know how you could stand this place." That's what Tzuyu always says every time she visits her, and all Chaeng does is shrug about it. She has no time to organize her stuff or maybe not always in the mood to lift a vacuum cleaner.**
Chaeng: I wonder if she already started reading it.
**She murmured while chewing the beef she just dunked in her mouth.**
**That book was one of her favorites. For her, it's one of her books that put her into fame.**
Chaeng: I hope she'll like it.
**She whispered again before she shook her head, wondering why she suddenly wants to impress her with her work.**
Chaeng: I guess you like her, Chaeng. Don't you?
**Then she slammed her back on her seat. Does she really like her? It's their first time seeing each other. Isn't it too early to tell? Do you think it's love at first sight? You don't even believe in that, remember? She nagged herself.**
Chaeng: Shit! This isn't good. I'm starting to talk to myself again.
**Well, it might be a bad sign that she's talking to herself again, but for the writer side of her personality, it's something good. It means her mind's working again, just like those times when she wrote her best selling books when she kept on brainstorming with herself.**
Chaeng: Fine! Fine! I guess I have a new story to tell. But tell me, and be honest with me, do you only see her as a new character in your story? Or this is something else?
**It's not like she wants to argue with herself. But it seems like the other side of her has a different answer, and she's surprised to hear about it.**
Chaeng: I don't think she's a new character in your story. Maybe, yeah, might be, but I think she's different. I think she's more of a new character in your real life.
**She scratched her head with her both hands and screamed some words that no one would understand.**
Chaeng: Don't you ever think about it! You two are not characters in a story where you could change their destiny every time you flip the page of each chapter. You two are real and living in two different worlds. She's a princess and you're just... you're just a novelist who locks up herself in a dirty dungeon and hardly makes a living.
**She stood up, suddenly lost her appetite just by thinking how different their world is.**
*****
Sana: So, are you busy on weekend? I mean, Saturday night?
**Mina didn't answer. Just like Sana calling her every day, she'd seen this already. She knows where it's going and what her question is about.**
Sana: A friend of mine has a friend, he's single and open for a blind date.
Mina: I'm not interested.
**Then she stared at Sana who seemed to not care about her answer. She's confident that eventually, she could make Mina say yes with all her offers.**
Sana: Why not? I mean, you're single. You don't have anything to do every weekend, which makes it a bit boring. Don't you think?
**Mina turned to the side where she placed Chaeyoung's book. It's her new company now. She knows she could finish it in one or two nights, but she wants to reread it once she's done. Or maybe go to the bookstore and buy another book that she had written.**
Mina: Boring? I don't think so. I have a new hobby now, remember? I'm starting to read books.
**Sana snorted, couldn't believe she's turning her down again with a new alibi. Why on earth she's not running out of reasons every time she offers her something? Sana thought.**
Sana: I'm telling you, he's a nice guy. And not only that, he's hot, too.
Mina: You know I'm not interested in hot guys!
Sana: So you're still interested in hot girls?
**Mina glared at Sana as if she's gonna eat her alive. It's not that she's closing her doors for guys. It's just she's more interested in girls' wittiness rather than guys, well she's not generalizing it, but they're just all full of themselves. So why bother to waste her time listening to guys who only care about themselves?**
Mina: Well, I'm more interested in the conversation and not in their gender.
Sana: What if this guy is smart and could keep up with you? Why not give it a chance?
Mina: I said I'm not interested.
Sana: Fine. But I'll still bring him to your café one of these days. At least be nice to him and say hi.
**Mina sighed. She sometimes doesn't like how persistent Sana is. When she wants something, she's not giving up until she gets it.**
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