Momo sat in the corner of the library, working in the cosy carrel. Her laptop screen stared out at her from the desk and she tapped a pencil impatiently as she waited for a site to load. It was a gloomy day and she was stuck on an assignment that would affect her final grade for the year. The subject that she was doing the assignment for was usually one she had no trouble with but for some reason, her mind was distracted and buzzed all over the place.

She stood up and shook her limbs loose, walking over to a nearby shelf and read some of the book spines, hoping that it might assuage her restlessness. She walked through the aisles of the shelves and found herself interested in the assortment of books that the library held. There were the boring scholarly titles such as Heinemann’s 8th edition of Biochemistry but as a prestigious institution, Yonsei had its share of literature students and housed an impressive collection of famous literary works.

She browsed through some of the older titles until she came across a book that grabbed her attention. It was called ‘Please Look after Mother’ and was a heart-warming tale about a family searching for a mother's true worth. It was a story that had ties close to her heart and Momo soon became engrossed in it, reading it until she heard breathing beside her ear. She turned and saw a familiar face. “Hello,” she greeted closing the book and placing it back into the opening on the shelf. “Another day,” she thought and put a smile on her face as she faced Mina. The brunette was dressed fashionably in a long coat and jeans, her nose pink from the cold outside.

‘What are you reading?’

‘It’s nothing. I was just bored so I thought I’d browse the shelves. What about you? Why are you in here?’

Mina pointed a thumb behind Momo to the back of the library. “I booked a study room since there would be a heater,” she explained. “Care to join me?” Momo hesitated for a moment before agreeing, nodding and walking back to where she had sat to collect her belongings. She walked past the common area of the library and stepped into the room Mina had indicated. Mina had already made herself comfortable and had taken up half the table, large papers with designs of some sort laid out on the smooth oak. Her fingers tapped at her keyboard, letting out a small groan of frustration at random intervals. Momo watched her for a time until she remembered that she had something to do and focused her attention on her assignment. She shook her head once before typing the first word and lost herself in her work.

~

Mina paused as she felt Momo’s gaze on her disappear and wondered why the blonde had been looking at her. She took the chance to glance quickly across the table and wished that she hadn’t. Momo was distracting in a turtleneck sweater with her hair tied up in a ponytail and Mina had been working furiously to complete her presentation slides. Now she was thinking about how good Momo looked and her train of thought faded to nothing. She sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to clear her thoughts. It helped a little and she tried not to think about others being able to see what she had. She made a mental note to remind Momo to wear a coat and settled back into her seat. She had a lot of stuff to do and mulling over what Momo was wearing wouldn’t help.

She turned her thoughts towards what her father had said during their dinner. When he had asked for her progress on the project, he had hinted towards something big that would be impacted by the success of what she was doing. If her father’s personality indicated anything, it was likely that he wanted her to take on more responsibility. Earning her father’s trust was something she had worked hard towards and if her project being a success meant that she would be imparted with some more meaningful duties then by all means, she would make the project a smashing success. She took a deep breath and reviewed the notes that she had already written, beginning to write more. She drew reference from the diagrams that she had spread out across the table; designs of other products that were recently successful.

She was able to work steadily for a time and was close to completion when a muffled thump sounded outside their door. She looked up and made eye contact with Momo, standing up at the same time. She reached the door first and pulled the handle to reveal a person on their hands and knees retrieving books spilled around them. A surprised gasp drew her attention and she turned to see Momo’s face light up with recognition. “You know him?” she whispered, unsure of how Momo would be friends with someone so clumsy. “Not really no,” Momo answered softly. “Let’s just say his drink met my shirt the other day.” Mina raised an eyebrow but Momo huffed a sigh and bent down to help the person pick up the remainder of the books.

As Momo bent down, the person looked up to see who it was and Mina saw his face for the first time. She almost laughed and only held herself back by virtue of her upbringing as she took in the broken glasses and shaggy bowl cut. She covered with her hand to mask a smile then stepped back into the study room, deciding it was better for her to return to her work than to laugh at someone’s misfortune. Sitting herself back down at her desk, she began to work again but was moments later interrupted as Momo walked back into the room followed by the person. She frowned as she watched the guy take the seat beside Momo with an eager expression on his face.

She tried to ignore them as she worked but they were a constant presence in the now-too-small room and she found her eyes sliding back every now and then. It was an irritation to see how the guy was leaning so close to Momo and she wished that she could put some distance between them. Adding further to her frustration was that Momo didn’t seem to notice or mind that he was so close and she played with the idea that Momo was in a relationship with the stranger. It was an uncomfortable thought and she discarded it before it could take hold. Her mind was for more important things and she dismissed the newcomer as for the third time, she focused her attention on her laptop.

It was a fleeting attempt and her attention was drawn again as a stilted laugh came from Momo, making her look up. To her relief, the guy stood up with his books clutched to his chest and smiled pleasantly at Momo before leaving. The room felt less pressing without a third person and after some time had elapsed, she casually asked, “So who was that?” Momo stopped typing and frowned at her.

‘Sorry?’

“I asked who that person was,” Mina repeated, hoping her curiosity didn’t leak into her voice. It would be morbidly embarrassing if Momo thought she was interested because she really wasn’t.

‘Like I said before, he’s just someone I met recently. He’s not a bad sort.’

‘Oh.’

Silence settled but Mina could see Momo peering at her from over the lip of her laptop. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

‘Are you jealous?’

‘What? Of course not.’

Momo pressed down the lid of her laptop and rest her chin on her palm as she stared at Mina, holding her gaze.

‘You’re avoiding eye contact. That’s quite suspicious.’

“Alright, fine! I’m jealous. Happy now?” Mina snapped, trying to put an end to the ridiculous conversation. She tried to draw her eyes away from Momo but failed and felt a blush rising up from her neck.

‘No. Why?’

‘Why what?’

‘Why are you jealous?’

Mina started, caught off guard by the question. ‘Why?’ It was such a simple question but it required such a difficult answer. A thousand thoughts were running through Mina’s head but before she could choose one, words slipped from in a tumble.

‘Because I like you.’

She froze as did Momo. She didn’t know what had possessed her to say what she had but now it was too late to take them back. She had said them and Momo had heard. She waited with a nervous heart as Momo blinked at her.

‘You like me?’

Mina nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

‘Is this a joke?’

Mina swallowed but shook her head. “Might as well get this over with,” she thought. “No, it’s not a joke.” Momo stared at her, speechless. A few moments of numbing silence passed before Momo spoke again. “You like me. Are you sure?” Mina sighed but bulled ahead.

‘Yes Momo, I’m sure. I…love you.’

Momo continued staring at her as if she had just grown a second head. “Are you sure you’re not mistaking love for something else?” she asked slowly. Mina nodded for a second time, afraid of what Momo would say next. However, instead of speaking, Momo reached over and grabbed her hand, clasping it in hers. Mina stiffened, startled by the sudden action. A clock ticked silently somewhere and seconds passed before she regained her senses. Momo’s hands were incredibly soft and belied her years of work. Her fingers were slender and her skin smooth and supple. Mina felt herself begin to flush and her body start to heat up. Momo was too close for comfort, leaning forward to look her in the eyes.

Suddenly, she noticed that her palms were becoming slightly damp, slick with a thin sheen of sweat. She pulled her hand back and placed it on her chest where her heart was threatening to burst out, turning her face and trying to hide the rising blush. It turned out to be the wrong move as Momo frowned at her when she had recovered some semblance of her composure.

‘See here. You pulled away. Normally, people like being touched by the person they like. I think you should wait and meet a few more people before you say anything like that agai