Mina woke to the smell of bacon frying and scrambled eggs and blinked through bleary vision to look at the clock on her bedside table. The numbers indicated that it was mid-morning and she groaned as she sat up, yawning as she stretched and wrapped a blanket around herself as she walked downstairs to see what was making the delicious smells. Tzuyu was making herself at home in her kitchen and was cooking up a breakfast for the both of them.

Mina slumped over the dining table as Tzuyu turned around at her entrance with a chipper smile. “Good morning,” Tzuyu called as she turned back to attend to the frying pan. “How are you so happy in the morning?” groaned Mina, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. “A cup of coffee always helps,” Tzuyu replied, pointing towards the coffee machine pot which was half-empty. At that, Mina roused herself and poured herself a cup, drinking in the bitter gold, feeling largely more alert after a few sips.

She seated herself back down at the table, rubbing her hands excitedly as Tzuyu served a plate filled with food in front of her. She dug in ravenously and only stopped when the plate was empty, sitting back with a satisfied sigh and rubbing her belly in contentment. She was struck by a sudden thought and straightened up, looking to Tzuyu who was still finishing off her food. “Since when did you cook?” she questioned. Tzuyu looked up with a rash of bacon in and pushed it in with a finger.

‘Since a while ago? Cooking bacon and eggs is not really that difficult.’

‘Ah, that’s true. I just never thought you would need to learn since your mum’s always there.’

Tzuyu shrugged and resumed eating. Mina looked around the room as she waited for her friend to finish and her thoughts turned to university. She had some classes in the afternoon but her entire morning was free and she wondered what she would do. As yet, she hadn’t been assigned any homework and the due dates for any assessments looked an eon away. Her conversation from the day before with Momo kept creeping into her thoughts and seeing that Tzuyu was polishing off the remainder off her egg yolk with some toast, she decided to ask for a second opinion.

‘Tzuyu, have you ever liked anyone?’

‘What’s this about? Why are you asking me all of a sudden?’

Mina shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to continue. “I-I think I might like someone but I’m not sure,” she said. “It’s just that yesterday in class we were having a discussion about what love was and I found a lot of the things being said applied to me.” Tzuyu pushed away her plate, her interest piqued.

‘Alright. And you want to confirm whether you actually have feelings for this person?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, to tell you the truth I’ve never liked anyone before but guys who have confessed to me have said that their hearts flutter whenever I smile or do something of the like.’

Mina thought about her reactions in the recent past but couldn’t recall a time when her heart had fluttered. “Hmm, that sounds logical but I don’t think that’s happened yet. Is there anything else that might help me out?” she asked. Tzuyu pursed her lips as she thought and ran a hand along the lacquered tabletop as she spoke. “Well, I’m new to love as well but when I think of how I’d react to someone I like, I think that I would feel happy at the smallest of things such as a smile or a touch and just spending time with that person regardless of whether they return your feelings makes you happy.”

Mina her chin as she considered what Tzuyu had said and felt herself blush as thoughts of what Tzuyu had said appeared. She raised a hand to her warming face and shook her head violently, willing away the thoughts. “It can’t be true,” she thought, unable to accept that she might be in love with someone. “You’re blushing,” marvelled Tzuyu, fascinated at the actions of Mina. “So do tell, who is this lucky person that has captured your heart?” “No one,” Mina replied quickly. She was unwilling to think further on the subject and wanted Tzuyu to end her line of questioning.

‘Aww, come on. It’s obvious that you have somebody you like. Is it someone I know?’

‘No. You won’t know who this person is since I don’t even know if I like them yet.’

“Alright then,” Tzuyu said, clearly not listening to what she was saying. Mina sighed and changed the topic, asking, “So, did you want to check out the apartment or are you going to head home now?” Tzuyu shook her head. “I actually had a quick look around when I woke up since I saw that you were still asleep but I can’t now. I have a class in half an hour.” Mina’s mouth formed an O and she stood up. “Do you want to wait for me and we can go together? It doesn’t take long to walk to the campus.” Tzuyu glanced down at her watch and shrugged.

‘Sure. We have time.’

Mina nodded and went into her room to brush her teeth and wash her face. She inspected her reflection in the mirror briefly before exiting the bathroom and changed into some simple clothes. She stuffed some books into her bag and checked that all the lights were closed before putting on her shoes and leaving the apartment. Tzuyu was waiting for her on the small step outside and whistled mindlessly as she locked the door. They started on their way and talked about small things as they walked. It was a short trip as Mina said and soon they found themselves at the entrance of the university. There was still some time before Mina’s class but Tzuyu rushed off with a goodbye.

‘Alright. Talk to you later. I’ll come visit you some other time. Also, don’t lie to yourself. You definitely have feelings for your mysterious person.’

Mina smiled as she shook her head at Tzuyu’s parting remark and headed up to the library to while away the time before her class. It was the first time she had entered the library and as she walked through the front doors, muffled chatter spread through the airy room. Students were seated everywhere in available chairs and at the computers. She seated herself at one of the few empty tables and got out her laptop. While her father had made her stop working at the family company, he had charged her with a task to occupy her attention over the course of the year: to create a new product design. She had complete freedom in how the product would look like and what it would be but that had its disadvantages as she had to work from scratch.

She lost herself in her brainstorming and research for ideas until she looked up as someone sat in the chair beside her. She stopped typing and slowly turned her head to see who the person was. “Fancy seeing you here,” Momo said as she sorted through a pile of books. Swallowing, Mina forced out a greeting.

‘Hi Momo. What are you doing here?’

‘Research. The library has everything I need and I just finished a class so I might as well wait here before I have to go to work.’

Mina nodded and made to speak again but thought better of it, watching as Momo studied the books in front of her. She would quickly scan the text in the books then make notes on her exercise book. Every so often, she would murmur something under her breath as she considered the information on a page. It was a scene that didn’t grow boring and Mina found herself transfixed by the sight of Momo working. Somewhere in her mind, something tugged at her but she ignored it, her research forgotten. There was something about the way that Momo flipped a page and wrote in her flowing script that caught her attention. It was a bright sunny day and the sunshine coming in from the window seemed to concentrate on Momo, accentuating the fiery colours of her hair and making her skin glow.

Momo tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and her eyebrow rose as she caught Mina staring at her. “Is there something wrong?” she asked as Mina averted her gaze. “No. Everything is fine. It’s fine,” she fumbled, inwardly cursing her clumsiness. She was saved from further questions as footsteps approached their table and a man leaned over Momo with some papers in hand. “Momo, just the person I was looking for. I wanted to confirm some things with you.” Mina recognised the person as their Psychology professor and wondered why he was here. It was reminiscent of their high school days as teachers would often duck their heads into their study room to ask Momo for favours.

‘-so if the weather cooperates, we can go with the beach idea but if it’s being difficult, I can bring over some decks of cards and other games and such. What do you think?’

Mina tuned into what the professor was saying and Momo closed her books, looking over the piece of paper that he held.

‘Hmm, that’s a safe bet. I’m not too sure whether the guys will want to just play cards if it rains but if there are other girls around, they’ll probably be more receptive.’

‘Oh you reminded me. We actually still have a few spots free so if you have any friends who want to come, feel free to invite them even if they aren’t in the department.’

Momo hummed in thought as she considered what the professor had said then caught sight of Mina. She turned to her saying, “Hey Mina, didn’t you say that you wanted to have the full university experience? Would you like to come on a free trip to the beach for a few days?” Mina looked around then pointed to herself in question as Momo nodded.

‘Um sure. That sounds fun. What are we doing on the trip?’

Momo looked to the professor to answer and he looked up from the sheet, noticing Mina for the first time. “Ah Mina. Sorry didn’t see you there. You had some astute observations yesterday in our class discussion. Makes one wonder if you haven’t had any experience in the subject,” he said with a grin. “Joking aside, I’m planning a membership training for the psychology department but it’s my first time planning it so I haven’t finalised anything but I will let you know in class when I’ve confirmed our itinerary. Basically, we’re going to be staying in a lodge next weekend with the public holiday and we’ll do a few activities to build up rapport between the members. Anyway, Momo I’ll send you an email later tonight with the details. I have to go prepare for a class.” The professor called a farewell and left with the piece of paper in hand.

‘So why are you helping out with the preparations?’

Momo stopped opening her book to answer. “It’s Mr. Son’s first time planning for an mt since the usual professor is on tenure leave. Since I’m the TA, he asked me to help out,” she explained. Mina nodded and smiled as she asked, “Didn’t Sana say something about you saying no to helping teachers?” Momo grinned embarrassedly at Mina’s question, shrugging as she knew that it was a recurring complaint of Sana’s. “I can’t help it. It feels wrong to say no if someone asks you for help.”

‘Maybe if you didn’t look so nice, teachers wouldn’t ask in the first place.’

‘Maybe. Anyways, don’t feel pressured to come if you don’t feel like it. I’m sure I can gather some other people to come.’

‘What? With your large pool of contacts?’

Mina raised an eyebrow, knowing that Momo was a closed person and didn’t have many friends. “You know me too well,” Momo said, scowling at Mina with mock annoyance. Mina smiled at Momo’s reaction as she repeated that she would go on the trip but inside she was a bit disappointed. “If only I knew you better,” she thought bitterly,