In which Mina is an author and unexpectedly finds inspiration for her book as well as a crush. 

Mina sighed as she leaned into her chair. She was currently at the café not far from her apartment stressing over her writer's block. She had hoped to get some sort of inspiration from the outside world but so far, there was none.

Her laptop was on the table and several scraps of paper with scribbled handwriting were sprawled over the keyboard. She took a sip from her cup of coffee as she let out another sigh. This won't do.

Mina was about to pack up and leave when she saw a girl with ombré purple hair flowing perfectly over her shoulders looking around for a seat. Mina raises her hand and caught the attention of the girl.

'May I?' The girl asked and Mina nodded with a smile. 'You seem busy.' She said as she looked at the slight mess.

'Ah, it's nothing much.' Mina brushed it off.

'Projects? I feel your pain.' The girl chuckled. 'Please, carry on. I wouldn't want to disturb you.'

Mina nodded and shifted her laptop closer to give the girl more space. The girl was pretty; sharp nose, bright eyes, cute cheeks which reminded Mina of a squirrel and pink lips. She watched as the girl pulled out a book from her bag. It wasn't just any book; it was Mina's book. Mina fought to keep a straight face.

'You read her books too?' Mina asked and the girl looked up, seemingly excited at the mention of the author.

'Yes! She's a really brilliant author. Her stories are really captivating and the way she writes is on a whole other level as compared to other authors. Well, to me that is.' The girl said as her eyes sparkled.

So she is a fan, Mina thought with a small smile.

'You've read all her books?' Mina asked and the girl nodded.

'I have the entire collection and a shelf dedicated to them. Do you?'

'She would be really happy to know that.' Mina chuckled. 'And yes, I do read her books as well.' I have to proofread my work after all.

'That's great to hear. What's your name? I'm Sana. Minatozaki Sana.' The girl extended a hand and Mina took it, giving it a firm shake.

'Sharon.' Mina said simply but Sana didn't seem to prod.

'You're not Korean?'

'I was born in the states.' Mina smiled and Sana nodded in understanding. It was no surprise that Sana didn't recognise Mina. The author had never publicly revealed her looks since she didn't see a need to. She was an author, not a celebrity.

An idea popped into Mina's mind and she quickly pulled out a pen from her shirt pocket. Flipping a random sheet of paper, she began to scribble her ideas down before she could forget them. She had always been this way; a sudden spur of random thoughts and ideas would appear out of the blue and she would pen them all down for any future use. If Sana had noticed her sudden movements, she must have been keeping quiet to avoid disturbing her table partner.

Mina began to type as she engaged in a small conversation with Sana. She genuinely wanted to know the girl more since she seemed like such an interesting person.

'So... why are you here?' Mina asked.

'I needed my caffeine fix and a nice cosy place to enjoy this book.' Sana shrugged.

'The noise doesn't bother you?'

'Nope. I usually get too immersed in the storyline that my surroundings get drowned out.'

'I see. I'm very much like that too.' Mina chuckled and Sana smiled.

'Seems like we have some similarities. You don't seem Caucasian actually.' Sana said and Mina nodded.

'I'm of Japanese heritage.'

'Ah, so am I!' Sana beamed and Mina couldn't help but smile at the sight.

'Really? That's really cool.'

'Such coincidences right? Oh, what are your favourite genres?' Sana asked and Mina tapped her chin.

'Mystery. I like solving puzzles and stuff so I would say that's my favourite but romance would be a close second.'

'Oo romance. Are you attached?'

'I'm single actually, but I will admit I'm a little closet romantic.' Mina rubbed her nape with a sheepish smile.

'That's pretty endearing actually. I think it's cute.' Sana smiled.

'How about you? What's your favourite genre?'

'Hmm I would say romance and sci-fi.'

'Are you attached then?'

'Nope I'm not.' Sana chuckled.

'Really? I wasn't expecting a pretty lady like you to be single.' Mina said honestly and a slight blush dusted across Sana's cheeks.

'Ah, you flatter me.' Sana lowered her head.

Mina smiled and went back to typing her story. By the time she decided to take a break, she realized that the sun had sent and most of the patrons had already left. Sana however was still sitting there, concentrated on the text.

Deciding it was enough for the day; Mina shut her laptop and arranged her papers.

'Oh you're done?' Sana asked as Mina slipped her laptop into her bag.

'For today. I'll be back tomorrow though.' Mina smiled.

'We shall meet here then.' Sana smiled back and Mina nodded.

'Not heading home yet?'

'I will soon.'

'I could give you a lift.' Mina offered as she shouldered her bag.

'Oh no, it's okay. I wouldn't want to trouble you.' Sana shook her head.

'Well then I'll give you a lift another day.' Mina said and pushed her chair in. 'See you tomorrow.'

'See you.' Sana nodded her head, taking note of how the girl didn't say goodbye instead.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

They met again at the cafe, but this time, Mina was without her laptop. She had opted to just enjoy the moment and concentrate fully on nurturing her friendship with Sana rather than trying to write and talk at the same time.

'No work today?' Sana smiled as Mina sat down.

'Nope.'

'You finished?'

'Nope. I chose not to do it today.' Mina grinned and Sana looked surprised.

'You can just ditch work like that?'

'I guess I can if I'm self-employed.' Mina shrugged and Sana let out a small 'ah'.

'I guess I shouldn't be reading today if you're here without anything to do.' Sana said and patted her bag.

'I'm here today to do something. And that something is to talk to you so that we can become good friends.' Mina smiled and Sana's eyebrows rose to her hairline.

'Me?' Sana pointed at herself.

'Yeah. Oh, was I being a little too straightforward? Sorry, my social skills are kinda in the ditch.' Mina rubbed her hands on her thighs and Sana vigorously shook her head.

'No no, I was just surprised that you would want to get to know me and be my friend. I'm just an average person and there's nothing special about me so I didn't expect to hear that.' Sana said.

'I'm just an average person too, what makes you think I'm any better?' Mina chuckled and Sana shrugged.

'You're self-employed so it means you're much more capable than me.' Sana tapped the table top with her fingernails and Mina smiled.

'That wouldn't mean much. My self-employment could just mean I'm actually a functional adult that can take care of myself and that I'm still jobless. Who knows? Don't let that mislead you.' Mina laughed and Sana nodded slowly. 'So.. Yes? No?'

'Of course I'd like to be your friend.' Sana said and Mina beamed.

'Great! If you don't mind me asking, are you working?'

'Not for now. I'm just trying to relax while I can before finding a job.' Sana chuckled.

‘I see I see. I hope you will enjoy the rest of your break.’ Mina smiled and Sana nodded.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Their little café meetings became a routine and somehow even without exchanging any contacts. Occasionally, Mina would have her laptop with her to catch up on her writings but usually she would do without and opt to spend quality time with Sana instead.

Recently, they had decided to have meals together rather than always having tea or small bites at the café. They were bound to get tired of always sitting at the same place every day anyway. Now, they would meet up at the mall to have lunch together. If it was late, they would have dinner. When they met up yesterday, Sana had said she was feeling a little peachy and true enough; she woke up feeling feverish and with a throbbing head.

Mina was currently on her way to Sana’s house. She had sent Sana home a couple of times before and she knew that Sana probably wouldn’t be feeling too good today considering how weak she seemed the day before. She parked her car and took the small bag of medicine that she had picked up from the pharmacy on her way over and walked up to the main door. Sana was trying to get ready to meet Mina at the mall when she heard her doorbell ring. Shuffling slowly to the door, she opened it to reveal Mina whose initial smile had changed into a worried expression.

‘Sana? Are you alright? You don’t look too good.’ Mina said as she stepped in and held Sana’s arms.

‘I don’t feel too well.’ Sana replied honestly and Mina walked her to the couch to take a seat.

‘Don’t move, I’ll get you some water.’ Mina said and walked into the kitchen. Since she had never been in Sana’s house before, it took her some time before she appeared with a glass of warm water and medicines in hand.

‘Take these. You’ll feel a little better after.’ Mina said and watched as Sana popped the pills into and gulped them down.

‘Thanks. Where did you find them? I didn’t think I had any medicines.’ Sana said as Mina puffed up the pillows for the girl to lean back on.

‘I got them from the pharmacy on the way here. I had a feeling you wouldn’t have any.’ Mina said and scooted over to give Sana some leg room.

‘Thank you. You’re a life saver.’ Sana smiled and Mina patted the girl’s knee.

‘Rest up.’ Mina smiled and took her phone out to keep herself occupied. After some time, she looked at Sana to find that the girl was fast asleep. It was already 5 pm and Mina was sure that the girl hadn’t eaten anything since she seemed to have woken up at the time that Mina had come which was around 1 pm.

Getting up quietly, she took the spare keys that were hanging by the door and left to get some take outs. Mina returned after thirty minutes to find Sana in the same position as when she had left. Hanging the keys back in their original spot and setting the paper bag on the table, she walked over to the couch and knelt down beside Sana.

‘Sana.’ Mina said gently as she tapped the girl’s shoulder. Sana stirred and raised a hand to rub her head.

‘Hmm?’ Sana hummed in question at why she was being woken up.

‘Can you get up for a little? I bought some dinner.’ Mina said, close to a whisper. Sana nodded and with the help of Mina, sat up. The author brought the small container of porridge over.

‘You didn’t have to you know?’ Sana said as she watched Mina stir the porridge.

‘I can’t just leave my friend alone to suffer can I?’ Mina smiled and fed Sana a spoon of porridge. Mina helped Sana to her bed and tucked her in before clearing up.

‘Sharon?’ the author heard Sana call out from her room.

‘Yes?’ Mina rested her head on the door.

‘You should stay the night.’ Sana said and Mina hummed. ‘Can you come in?’

Mina twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

‘You could sleep here.’ Sana said and gestured to the other side of the queen sized bed.

‘Alright.’ Mina smiled and placed a hand on Sana’s forehead. The girl was still burning up slightly. She went back out and came back with a cold towel and placed it on Sana’s forehead before going back out to have her own dinner and take out the trash.

Mina changed the towel once more before slipping into bed and drifting off to sleep.

Five months has passed since Mina and Sana’s first meeting and their friendship had bloomed perfectly. It might not have been a long time but they did grow closer. Mina was a few sections away from finishing her novel and she was currently sitting on her couch at home. Sana had said that she would be busy today; hence Mina would be spending the day alone at home.

Mina’s feelings were confusing her. She didn’t know when it even started. Sure she wanted to be Sana’s friend but it seems like the sudden feeling to want to be more than just that appeared out of nowhere.

Was it the way that Sana smiled? The way her hair would flow perfectly over her shoulders? Maybe it was her captivating smile. Her laugh? Her dulcet tone? The way she would be slightly insecure about herself? Or maybe it was how her eyes seemed to sparkle?

Whatever it was, it was stirring up feelings that Mina hasn’t felt in a while. It was different from her previous feelings. This was something much purer. Something more innocent. Something she wanted to keep for a long time.

She hugged a pillow and stared blankly at the white ceiling. Mina was an excellent author but she couldn’t seem to find the right words to describe how she felt about Sana. How ironic. The best she could come up with was that Sana was perfect.

Mina thought back to her conversations with Sana. She was well versed with human behaviour since she had to provide accurate and detailed descriptions for her characters and Sana seemed to show some interest in her but she couldn’t entirely assume so. She didn’t even know which team the girl played for.

She shook her head in hopes of clearing her thoughts and turned her attention back to her laptop and began typing the last section, pausing every now and then to find an accurate word to describe her feelings that she was pouring into this book.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Sana waited at the café for Mina to turn up but the girl never showed. She had Mina’s number but the girl wasn’t picking up and Sana didn’t know where she lived wither. Sana let out a deep sigh. Had she done something to drive Mina away? Perhaps she had been too straightforward with her feelings and Mina had picked up on her not so subtle actions which ended up scaring her away.

The girl was back at the café the next day full of hope and saw that Mina was already there with her fingers laced on the table, bouncing her legs under the table as if impatiently expecting something. When she saw Sana walking towards her, she seemed to visibly relax.

‘Sana. I’m sorry I didn’t show up yesterday. I was busy the whole day discussing my n- project with my partners. I was going to be busy today as well but I thought that I should at least meet up with you to tell you that I would be busy for the next few weeks.’ Mina explained and Sana nodded.

‘It’s alright. So I’ll take that you wouldn’t have time to meet up much in the next few weeks?’ Sana said, heart sinking.

‘Yeah. Sorry. But we would meet soon. Don’t worry. Time will pass soon if you don’t think about it so much.’ Mina gave a small smile and Sana nodded with a smile of her own.

Mina’s novel was published two weeks later, after three months of going through the tedious process of editing, proofreading, sorting out the documents and arranging for the printing with her trusty friend, Tzuyu.

Sana who was walking around the bookstore saw the book and a smile grew on her face. This should help her pass time while she waited for Mina. Purchasing the book, she made herself comfortable on her couch and began reading. The book was dedicated to the author’s love interest which made Sana smile.

As she read, she found that the personality of the main protagonist’s love interest seems to match that of her own which was pretty flattering since it was written by her favourite author. It was probably because of the personality resemblance that drew Sana even deeper into the plot as compared to the other books that she had read.

By the time the sun set, she was almost finished with the book. Sana was now at the chapter where the protagonist asks her love interest to meet up at a café so that she could confess her love. Sana could feel her heart beating faster as her excitement rose with every word she read. When she read the confession, it felt almost as if the protagonist was confessing to her and she couldn’t help but smile as she finished the book.

As she closed the book, it suddenly struck Sana that the dialogue of the protagonist was somehow familiar. Later she linked the resemblance to Mina, it was eerily similar but it made Sana feel happy since it was like a fiction about her and Mina.

She checked her phone and saw that Mina had sent her a text three hours ago, confirming their meeting at the café tomorrow. Sana quickly replied and explained the reason for her delayed response.

Mina didn’t seem to mind and wished the girl a pleasant night with a smiley face.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Sana had brought the book along with her to share with Mina. She entered the café and saw that Mina was sitting near the back rather than their usual seat. The girl smiled when she saw Sana and tilted her head to acknowledge the girl’s presence.

‘Did you finish the book?’ Mina asked and Sana nodded, pulling it out of her bag and placed it on te table.

‘Did you read it yet? It’s truly a masterpiece.’ Sana said as Mina took out a marker from her pocket. She pulled Sana’s book over and uncapped her marker, flipping the book open and signed on the cover.

‘What are you doing?’ Sana asked as Mina slid the book back and capped the marker. Sana looked at what Mina had scribbled and realized that it wasn’t a scribble but instead a signature.

‘Isn’t this…’ Sana said with wide eyes as she looked up at Mina who had a slight smile on her face.

‘Thank you for the compliment.’ Mina smiled and Sana’s jaw dropped.

‘Y-you’re Myoui Mina?’ Sana managed to stutter out and the author nodded.

‘Before you say anything, I think I owe you an explanation. I didn’t want to tell you who I really was because I really wanted to be your friend and I didn’t want who I was to be something that prevented us from really becoming friends. I was having a writer’s block when I met you and you just seemed so perfect and gave me the inspiration to write this. I was happy to hear that you liked my books of course but I didn’t dare to tell you because I was afraid you might freak out.’ Mina paused and looked down at the table. ‘The main protagonist in this book is me and the love interest is you. I dedicated this book to you and the ending chapter is what I wish we would become.’

‘Mina…’ Sana said for the first time and she already loved how easily the girl’s name rolled off her tongue.

The author brought out a small bunch of paper flowers and held it towards Sana which the girl took, still trying to process the sudden revelation.

‘I like you. I really do. If you think there’s nothing special about you, I’m going to have to disagree. In my eyes, you’re perfect and I think your flaws are what make you you.’ Mina smiled. ‘Can I call you mine?’

Sana was shocked. It was so surreal, like a dream.

‘Am I dreaming?’ Sana muttered and Mina chuckled.

‘Not at all.’

‘Yes. Yes of course I’d gladly be.’ Sana laughed and Mina rested her head on the table.

‘My heart feels like it’s going to explode gosh.’ Mina looked up with a huge grin on her face.

‘Same here.’ Sana replied with a grin of her own.

‘I guess we’re dating now?’ Mina asked nervously and Sana nodded.

‘My dream has come true.’ Sana placed her hand over Mina’s and the girl’s grin widened even more.

‘This will be the sequel to the novel. A sequel that only we will know of.’ Mina said and Sana nodded with a grin.