Sunlight passed through the murky, dusty window of an old apartment room and settled directly on the eyelids of a sleeping girl, stirring her up in wakefulness. A soft sigh then a short fluttering of eyes before the girl had fully woken. The pupils of her eyes, lazy and bored, dilated to her surroundings as she felt the sunlight moved and gently kissed the milky skin of her rosy cheeks. The mixture of grey, white, light brown, and fading blue greeted her once more, like any other day that had already passed. As she turned her head to her right, she read her name on the lower part of the penguin clock that one of her best friends had won over a raffle. 'Mina' was neatly written in very familiar characters that were completely different of what she was currently using. She smiled softly, the Japanese lettering of her name will always bring that little comfort and warmth inside of her despite the stillness and dullness of her everyday life. 

"Everyday," Mina whispered to herself and to the quietness of their place as her eyes slowly looked and read up the time. 8:08 in a Monday morning, another day of being that plain accountant in their firm. The thought brought out another sigh, deeper than the first one, and the downfall of the slightest smile on her face. She blinked quietly, bones and muscled lazy and unwanting to start the day, but she was fully – begrudgingly – aware that she had to. With a quiet click of her tongue, she pulled herself away from the comfort of her bed.

She proceeded with taking a quick shower, washing the remnants of yesterday from her hair and lathing her body with coconut flavoured soap. Then, she dressed up according to her work's policy, a black pencil skirt paired with a white long-sleeved button-up shirt. A quick egg on toast and maybe an extra for her roommate of a best friend before she moved to the sink to brush up her teeth. Mina looked at her reflection in the mirror. She straight looked like she never had the weekend before starting up the week again when, in fact, she did. She laid on her bed, played mobile games, and watched movies for eight hours to be exact – her established routine for her weekends. 

Mina looked paler with evident dark circles under her eyes, which of course, nothing that couldn't be masked with the retouch of makeup. A few blendings of foundation, flicks of mascara, brushes of blush on, glidings of lipstick, and sprays of perfume definitely resolved her morning concern, but her eyes. Her eyes just couldn't lie and cover up the dullness that she had been feeling. With a deep sigh, she tucked a hair strand behind an ear before heading out for the day. 

She wanted a nice sunny day. Actually, Mina had been longing for it, but for the past days, she had only been greeted by the faint sunlight, hiding behind the greyish clouds. She bit her lower lip because she felt another pang of hollowness inside of her, worrying and alarming of how the odd feeling frequent. Mina began to walk to the bus station to work. She wouldn't lie that it wasn't fun and thrilling, being pulled to the crazy ideas of her best friends to fly to another country for college, because it was. 

The sole reason why she was in a pair of heeled shoes, in a whole different country, speaking its language, respecting its culture, and working under its governance. The crazy was fun and thrilling, having her heart set to graduate somewhere new with her bestest of friends, but it didn't last that long especially after the graduation part. Mina was pulled out of deep thoughts when her phone buzzed, not once but twice. Speaking, no, thinking of the devils, she received good morning texts. Two texts at exactly nine in the morning, never missing beat, from her best and only friends ever since she got to Korea.

From Momoring:
Morning, Mitang~ Ten minutes before home and with Nayeon, have a great day at work!

From Satan:
Minari, good morning \ (*≧∀≦*) / start your day with a smile and don't forget to have fun even at work xoxo

Mina smiled to their texts. She smiled, but the glistening sadness in her eyes twinkled because for the past days she had been thinking. Her jaw unconsciously clenched to another pang of dullness that surged to her chest without warning. She frowned to herself because how can she come clean to her best friends that she had been thinking of going back to Japan, that the dullness had been churning her insides and draining her to emptiness. Everything seemed in grey and fading before her own eyes, something she was sure that would be completely different for her best friends. Momo works in a dance studio that she surely enjoys albeit the nightly choreographing that lasts to the early hours of the mornings, and well, she is also dating Nayeon, another dance teacher from her work. Sana, on the other hand, is currently booked for the next two months in a modeling agency, and Mina is also sure that she is flirting with someone. She could tell just from the new level of excitement in the texts of her best friend. 

Her face shoot up and a groan escaped from her lips loudly, not because sighing couldn't contain her frustration anymore, but because of the growing need and longing of something new and changing. Something that would at least add some colour in her life. Mina stopped from walking before she looked at the lifeless sky and resting Gods above as she locked her phone and shove it back in her bag. She could feel the other working people gathering on her side, the same as her and waiting to be able to cross the white dull lines of the pedestrian lane. "Something," she breathed hopelessly before closing her eyes, "Please." 

But life couldn't be that fulfilling because upon facing forward, it wasn't something that would help and add colour to her life... but rather someone.

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How did that thoughtless wish turned Mina's point in life elsewhere? Well, she still couldn't quite tell how. Her accountant brain fell short for the right answer to the question the least, but it did turn begrudging work days into actual anticipation. All she knew was that she caught colour that day when her eyes laid upon a nameless girl who happened to be standing in front of her on the other end of the lane and whom she learned to be always wearing some earphones or headset. 

The first time she had seen her, she was coloured in deep red and hair coming in straight short hair. Mina wanted to think of her as reckless, hot-headed, and maybe troublesome at some point. At least that was what she was getting from first impression of straight shoulders, giant headset, and a bored, cold expression. 

The second meeting was a total foolery because she wrongly thought that she would also see her during the coming days of the week. The second glimpse was shorter than the first one because the walk sign was blaring in annoying green and she had a hard time finding her. Mina wasn't to be blamed, an excruciating month had passed and the nameless girl was an inch or two shorter than her and could be easily lost in the crowd. She wasn't able to appreciate her longer; nonetheless, she had a look on her. The girl's hair was longer that day, brown and waving past her shoulders. Definitely, extensions, she noted in her head as they walked straight to each other's end. "Soft," she whispered as the girl drew closer. The diagonally half blue and lavender oversized sweater had said so. It made her smile.

The third occurence was the ice breaker for Mina because she was now aware that little by little she was learning about the cub. How and why the cub? Well, for this time, she had completely cut her hair short, like really short that she almost looked like a walking coconut. The lightening of her brown hair didn't also help her situation. Mina gigled as she watched her head bobbed to music in her earphones, "An adorable coconut." Also, she coined the term the cub for the nameless girl because she oddly resembled one. The new haircut resembled her into a young cub or a playful baby beast to be more exact, and also because the floppy ears were more visible to the short hairlength. They did resemble circular tiger ears. 

The cub is free-spirited and has her own world. She was like that for Mina, at least that was what the Japanese had built into her character just from the glimpses that she had stolen. She was also like that because for the fourth month she was back again with long hair – straight and jet-black. Through the months of barely seeing her, Mina had wondered what could be the reason of her changes. She was mesmerised of the cub's always changing persona, each month different from the other. She honestly wouldn't mind knowing all her colours.

The fifth month didn't change much of anything. Speaking of the cub, not much had changed except of going back to wavy brown hair. On Mina, though, she had some urges of maybe introducing herself to the shorter girl. Just some confusing urges to maybe introduce herself and maybe get to know her, but wouldn't it be weird for her to do that? Should she explain that she had been waiting for her for months just to appreciate and look at her for a maximum of four minutes? That would be embarrassing as Mina thought and felt, so for that month she had purposely averted her eyes from her, guilty and conflicted. Not just seeing her colours, but she was also starting to feel them. 

Sixth was a hard call for attention. Mina didn't need to find the cub for that morning because her eyes widened and were naturally drawn to her curly bright orange hairstyle with crooked fringe. At that point, she was pretty sure that the cub only wanted to live by her own rules. The shorter girl was unpredictable and slightly eccentric, maybe those were the reasons why Mina was having urges to know her. Curiosity could really kill a cat, or penguin. Either way, it could and it might.

The seventh time was hypnotising, Mina was lost to the pinking blonde short hair of the cub. The pink was fading into blonde and it shined stronger against the faint, cowards sunlight. Enchanting her into thinking that maybe one day she could have the gut to walk up to her and not past her. One day, maybe in the future, she could nonchalantly introduce herself. Hi, I'm Mina. For the past months, you've spared colour to the repetitive dullness in me, she practiced in her head, a smile curling as she stepped into crossing the pedestrian lane yet again. You could be this intimidating red, soft or playful brown, summery orange, and this enchanting mix of pink and blonde, she confessed, aware that heat was slowly creeping up her cheeks, And I think I want to know you. Her heart was beating faster and her blood streams were going wild to the point that her fingers had gone numb. She had recited those words quietly to herself as if mouthing a memorised script as she watched the cub fell oblivious of her existence once again. "And I think I like you," Mina whispered too quiet to be heard when they walked past each other. She gently bit her lip, hopelessly smiling and thinking, Maybe pink meant strawberry for you because you smell like them.

Eight was gloomy, different, and odd. There wasn't many people on either side of the road. In fact, she was the only person who will be crossing the lane. Mina was alone for the day, she supposed it was the result of forgetting to set her alarm. She looked at the empty side in front of her, "I guess I wouldn't be seeing her for this month," she said as she eyed up to the sky. Mina gripped the umbrella in her right hand. The late night news was right. She could tell that it will be raining for that day. The usual grey lazy clouds were turning heavier and darker, and the faint sunlight was nowhere to be found. One, two, three seconds, and then she felt something cold dropped to her forehead – blinking at the sudden contact. When she was about to open her umbrella, her eyes were pulled to a stranger. A stranger who she had been anticipating of seeing for months, even for only brief moments. The same stranger who she had thought, studied, and appreciated for months. The mystery who she tried to learn and understand from afar, standing in front of her for the eighth time, and who was worried and waiting for the light to turn green. Life was never that fulfilling and the sign laughably prolonged its redness.

As the droplets of rain sped up its downfall, the cub doubled her worrying with eyes already plastered to the waiting shed located on Mina's side. Bigger droplets fell and the Japanese girl could tell that being soaked in the rain was the last thing that cub would want. The way how she had pulled her backpack to her chest before hugging it protectively had said so. Mina judged just from the muffled thunder roars from afar that It was going to be a downpour. Despite being under shelter of her umbrella, she quickly grew restless as well as the patters of droplets poured; so when the light turned green, without any hesitation, Mina strode towards the cub and shielded both of them from the rain.

"Thank you," the cub said closely, looking up at the tall stranger who had wordlessly saved her. "No, thank you," Mina replied, equally staring at the short stranger in front of her. She wasn't really sure if the cub had heard her words from the rain or the still plugged earphones in her ears, so instead of saying something again, she just gestured for the other girl to follow her. 

Mina shut off her umbrella while the cub pulled her earphones when they arrived at the waiting shed. "Thanks again," the cub said, clearing to call out for her. The taller girl could only nod her understanding. Suddenly, the Japanese girl was out of words. She was lost at how close they were. The waiting shed wasn't that big to begin with. Awkward silence permeated their space, and Mina was already growing anxious as it lasted longer for each second. She had to say something, anything, or she will lose her chance to know her. The stranger who obliviously added colour to the repetitive eight months of her life. Her lips trembled, she knew that she will always not be the best person for knowing someone, and at that moment, she wished that she could be even just for few borrowed minutes. Mina was already starting to overthink a way to say something or a way of escape from the stretching palpable silence. "I'm Chaeyoung, by the way," the cub had interrupted, shyly stealing glances to her right where the tall stranger was standing. 

"Son Chaeyoung," she cleared with a small smile. Mina blinked from confusion and surprise before she had fully registered her words into her enchanted mind. "Mina," she answered softly, extending her arm for a handshake, "Myoui Mina," she smiled back. Chaeyoung lagged her reaction as well, but after few seconds, she reached for her hand and shook it. They stayed still with connected hands until the cub pulled away and ped her bag. 

"I, uh," she hummed as she scrambled into her bag, earphones falling down and pattering down to the cobblestone of the waiting shed. She pulled them back up awkwardly before finally managing to pull out a piece of paper from the pocket of her bag. In amusement, Mina watched her fidget for that piece of paper. "Here," she extended her arm and handed the piece to her. It was a ticket for some show. "In exchange for your help," Chaeyoung said, hand flying to the back of her neck, "I, uh, I mean, we, our band, will play here for the week. We do monthly and you can drop by and watch us."

Mina smiled because taking glimpses of Chaeyoung from afar was an entirely different feeling of being close with her. She was definitely cute but she didn't expect her to be this dorky. "I, I mean only if you want to," Chaeyoung blurted from her lack of words or reaction, "It's just that I'm not only thankful for not being soaked, but you also saved the lyrics that I'm working on to," mumbling explanation, "So thank you, really." "I will," Mina finally replied with another gentle smile.

"Great!" Chaeyoung exclaimed with excitement, "I-I'm the vocalist!" She turned beet red just as how fast those details were announced. She clearly didn't have to or at least she could've surprised Mina with her position, and not going to lie, she sounded too proud of the statement. "Yeah," she then laughed, attempting to ease the awkwardness that she had pulled by and into herself. Chaeyoung cleared loudly before stuttering embarrassingly, "So, don't you need to be somewhere i-important," she squeaked as she gestured her hand up and down to her obvious work attire, "You're going to be late." Mina looked at her eyes softly before pulling away – heart in much a calmer state than she had expected. 

Almost eight months passed, eight first weeks, eight fleeting glimpses, and eight different colours of a total stranger. "It's fine, Chaeyoung," Mina smiled, liking the feeling of saying her name out loud, "Don't worry, I was missing work anyway." 

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End
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A/n: Something short for #HappyMichaengDay!

Hi! Welcome, new readers, please check out my other works if you guys have the time! But if you guys don't want to that's also understandable ۹(ÒہÓ)۶