“Chae-“

“Mi-“

The gentle wind blew the beige curtains into the empty clubroom,touching their warm skin while the two of them finally trying to express themselves into words after a long moment of just silence.

“After you.”

The Japanese stated,waiting for the Korean to go on before her.

“It’s not necessary…”

She paused as she looked down at her backpack that was still on the chair.

“It’s not necessary for me to run away like that,avoiding you after what I caused..”

A sigh then could be heard,following after the sentence.

“No…You have the right to do that…I was the one who took things too far,didn’t I,Chaengie?”

The older laid her eyes on the younger with the corners of her lips curved into a smile.Even so,it wasn’t the smile that Mina usually had on her face and Chaeyoung knew that very well despite their short meetings.The cub then immediately denied the previous statement Mina made with her somehow shaky voice.

“N-nooo.You are wrong.I-I’m at fault.I didn’t know what happened to me that evening and I still don’t have a clue about it until this moment…”

…

“Say Tzuyu…What does it feel to feel?”

Silence.The only thing they could hear was the sound of the fan that accompanied both of them.

“So it’s true…?”

Tzuyu started off.Her voice changed.

“W-what-“

“It’s true that you can feel now?”

Tzuyu turned her focus fully on Chaeyoung.

“W-well I-I don’t know…I-It just…Something happened and I don’t understand it…”

“Ohh…I see…”

The bookworm then placed the book she was reading on her table with a small smile slipped on her lips.Tzuyu then stood up.

“Tzuyu?”

Walking towards Chaeyoung who was sitting on her bed,she pulled the petite girl in a hug.

“Finally…”

She embraced the girl tightly while Chaeyoung just stayed still,not expecting the hug coming to end the conversation they had with no answer was received at the end of the night.The only thing Chaeyoung was sure of was someone’s racing heartbeat which was not hers.

…

“I don’t understand any of this,Mina…I’m supposed to be broken…A doll without any feelings like what they said about it…And I don’t mind it…But now,everything is a mess…”

“C-Chaegie…”

…

“Oh my goodness,Chaeyoung.Why is your head bleeding this much?What happened?”

The middle aged woman knelt as she cupped the little girl’s face in her palms.Concern and worries were all showing in her voice as she checked the quite deep wound on the girl’s forehead.

“I fell off the swing,ahjumma.”

The little girl told the caretaker of the orphanage with not even a hint of pain in her flat toned voice.

“C-cmon L-Let’s go to the hospital now.”

“Yes,ahjumma.”

…

“So,doctor?How’s she?Is Chaeyoung,okay?”

The doctor let out a heavy sigh before she put down the report book of the girl named Son Chaeyoung written on it after examining it for a while.

“Maam…I have two news for you…I really hope you’ll be able to take this news…I know this will be hard and I’m deeply sorry for it..”

The woman nodded slowly,not daring herself to interrupt more.

“Son Chaeyoung…We did an MRI test on her.The first news is thanks goodness,we found no other injury from her falling off of the swing except for the wound on her forehead.It would take a week or 2 to heal but we don’t have to worry about that as long as you clean the wound from time to time and make sure she takes the medicines that I’ll give,there would be no problem about infection…However…”

The man who seemed to be in his early 30s then paused for a moment before he let himself went on.

“May I ask you something,maam?”

The doctor questioned the woman in front of her.

“Yes?”

“We found another problem in her brain…”

The woman gasped,covering .

“It was near her limbic system which controls emotions like happiness,sadness,anger and emotional response such as smiling,laughing,crying…This system is also responsible for ual response and memory…I’m deeply sorry to say this but with an injury like this,Son Chaeyoung might need to live her life differently unlike others…and it seems like the cause was an injury and trauma from something that has happened to her in the past.”

“…I see…Something..Something did happen to the poor girl a year ago..She was involved in an accident with her parents…She was the only one who survived…Since she has no other relatives,she was sent to us…But,we never knew about this..Can she be cured,doctor?

“…Me and my team,we wish to do something about this too..However,this isn’t something that could be fixed…I deeply apologise,maam on behalf of my team and myself…”

…

“W-What is happening to me?I-I can’t understand…What is t-this”

“C-Chaengiee.”

The warm liquids streamed down her cheeks.Her face was turning pale.Her head was hurting.It was spinning and she could think of nothing.Her vision was getting blurry.All she could hear was someone calling for her before everything was suddenly pitch black.

…

Chaeyoung’s POV

Fluffy.I turned my head to the side before realising that I was laying on something fluffy.A bed?But how?My head suddenly started aching again as the pain came back,hunting me once again.I winced as I held my head.What happened?I was talking to Mina,didn’t I?

“C-Chaengie?”

That nickname.There’s only one person that I know called me by that name.

“Chaengie?Y-you’re up?”

Slowly,I opened my eyes.It took quite a moment for my blurry sight to be cleared again before I saw that girl who made my life a sudden mess,sitting beside me.

End of Chaeyoung’s POV

“Chaengie!W-Wait I-I’ll call the doctor!!”

…

“Okay…”

The doctor put the stethoscope back on her shoulders before she turned to face the girl who was standing beside her,fiddling her fingers,biting her lips anxiously.Her eyes were red and swollen.It hinted just how much she cried.

“So,doctor?How is she?”

“She’s okay now…I don’t see any kind of bad symptoms but still,we need to do an MRI test with her later just to double check.Are you her guardian?”

“Ah yes…When will she be discharged from here?”

“If there’s really nothing wrong with her,she can leave by tomorrow morning…We’ll just let her rest for now and the MRI test will be tonight..I’ll tell the nurse about it so she can guide you guys later..That’s all for now.I’ll take my leave here.”

“Yes thank you,doctor.”

The Japanese bowed as the mentioned doctor just smiled and walked away to continue her other duties.

“Uhm,M-Mina?”

Hearing her name was being called,Mina quickly turned her focus back to the cub who was trying to get up by herself.

“Wait careful,I’ll help you”

“Thanks.”

Mina let Chaeyoung’s back rest against the bedpost before she then just smiled.It was that smile again.The smile that Chaeyoung saw before she fainted.Mina was looking down at the cub’s hand which was injected by the doctor a while ago.

“It’s okay…I was so..worried…But I’m happy now that you are finally awake again..Sitting in front of me…”

“Y-yeah…”

“How are you feeling by the way,Chaengie?Is your head still hurting?”

Chaeyoung shook her head.

“No,it doesn’t anymore..”

“I see…”

“Yeah…”

There’s a moment of silence filled the gap between them before Chaeyoung muttered something,catching Mina’s attention.

“I want to tell you…”

“Hmm?Tell me?”

“Hmm…It’s about my past and my current situation…Since I still didn’t get to tell you truthfully before”

“S-sure you can tell me anything but maybe…maybe now is not the right time…You just woke up…I hate..Seeing how you suffer before,Chaengie..”

The older mumbled the last sentence quietly.

“..But..I need to tell you this,Mina..I..I want to…I want you to be the first one who knows about my past…I don’t know why and I don’t understand why…But I want you to hear me out…I want you..to know me…I’m sure the doctor would want me to tell about this too later…So,please…”

The younger looked up,finding her eyes,staring into the older’s.There’s something in her eyes somehow that told Mina there were more that both Chaeyoung and her didn’t know about.

“Okay then…Tell me,Chaengie…”

…

“So,you started experiencing feeling recently?”

The cub nodded while the doctor in front of her just sighed with such a serious expression on her face.

”I see…So,it makes sense now..”

“W-what’s wrong with her,doctor?”

The anxious penguin interrupted the conversation between the doctor and the patient,couldn’t help herself to feel worry even more by the doctor’s reaction.

“Well actually,Miss Myoui,Miss Son…”

“Yes?”

“This is a good news.”

A contrast answer.The woman smiled as she nodded.

“G-good news?”

“Yess~According to what I heard from Miss Son,your limbic system shouldn’t be able to work well because of the brain injury and trauma you had when you were a kid..However,the MRI scan result was different from what you mentioned.Your limbic system turns out,working well as if there’s nothing wrong with it in the first place.So,the reason you collapsed yesterday was because your brain was under pressure because you kept pushing it to adapt your ‘new called’ emotions…You were trying too hard to understand every single of it and as you know,Miss Myoui…Our emotions could be so complicated so for Miss Chaeyoung who suddenly could finally experience her emotions back after years,she got her brain under stress because she thought too hard about it yet still couldn’t find the answer she wanted..”

The doctor gave her long hypothesis while the two girls just nodded,focusing on the next thing the doctor added in her speech.

“It is actually a miracle that this happened to you,Miss Son..The brain injury that you had was supposed to leave a permanent effect to your limbic system but here you are now,in my office with your girlfriend,having a conversation about how you are feeling again..”

She nodded again with a smile never left her face,not realising that the girls in front of her had already turned red because of what she just assumed.

“So,Miss Myoui and Miss Son,we don’t have to do anything about this.My only advice is Miss Myoui,she needs a support..A support to help her discover these emotions but don’t rush things…Let your mind,your body speak to you,Miss Son…Listen carefully to them but don’t put a pressure on yourself..Ask for your support…Let the emotions flow in you but don’t let them control you…Help her to control them,Miss Myoui…It’s 100% okay to take your time because your health matters the most,okay?”

…

Diingg clack

The door was finally opened before the owner of the fancy apartment invited her guest in.

“Get in~”

Her eyes gleamed,guiding the girl behind her to the living room.

“Make yourself at home,okay?”

“Y-Yes…But,Mina...Is it okay for me to stay here?”

“Yep sure it is very okay~My parents resisted to give me this apartment eventhough I rarely stay here since I like being in the dorm more hehe~”

The penguin’s lips curled up,grinning at her only guest today before she continued.

“I usually just invite Sana here to accompany me if she isn’t going back to Japan…But,that’s during semester break so it’s okay~Plus,the doctor told you to get enough rest too for these few days so I figured it’s the best to stay away from stressing environment like the college and just stay here for the time being~I already told the lecturers and the club members,so take your time here~”

Mina’s face was plastered with her gummy smile as she turned her back,placing the apartment card on the table near the kitchen while the cub just nodded.Her eyes couldn’t help but to wonder around the whole space that was decorated with modern luxury furnitures that she knew she couldn’t even dare to ask for the price.However,there was one thing that caught her eyes that ended her to stand in front of it,admiring it from the bottom of her heart.

“It’s such a beautiful painting,right?”

Chaeyoung nodded while her eyes were still on the painting,not planning to leave it any time soon.It was a woman painting.She was in a white dress.Her hair was tied in a bun and she was looking down.Her eyes were full of nothing but sorrow.It told she was looking for something that was too precious for her to lose.

“Take your time there~I’ll put the herbal tea here~”

Mina put down the two cups on the coffee table before she took a sip of the tea she just made.

“She’s nice,isn’t she?The doctor…”

“Hmm…She is”

Chaeyoung took a seat beside Mina.Sipping the tea too fast like she usually did,somehow almost burned her tongue when she put the cup back to its place,making Mina giggled at her actions.

“It’s hot”

“M-My tongue…It’s hurting…”

“Yep it’s burning because you just drank a hot tea~”

“O-Oh I see”

The cub nodded while the hotness was still lingering on her tongue.

“Your body never responsded to something like that too?”

“Yes…I used to never feel…”

Chaeyoung tried to find the correct word before the Japanese beat her to it first.

“Pain?”

“Yes,pain…I used to have a big scar on my forehead because I fell off a swing…B-But of course,y-you don’t have to hear about that if you don’t want to.It’s not that important anyway.”

“No no like I said before…You can tell me anything,Chaengie…I’ll listen and you should tell me a anything actually…I-I mean about how you’re feeling and stuffs..I’ll try my best to help you~.”

The penguin flashed her usual smile.

“O-Okay~B-but do you really mean it..I mean,the support..You don’t have to do it if you don’t want it…I’ll figure it out myself.”

“No no,of course I want to help you…You need support…I don’t want you to collapse again because you put yourself under too much stress,Chaengie.Please let me now.”

Mina stared into Chaeyoung’s round eyes,hoping that the younger won’t turn her down.Meanwhile Chaeyoung just looked down,as if she was considering Mina’s offer.

“O-okay…I-I have something to ask then..”

“Oh yes sure..What is it?”

“…Recently…”

thump thump

“Whenever I’m around you,my heart is always…It always beat so fast…So fast to the point my chest hurts…It’s tight..My mind is always full of thoughts about you…To the point I have a hard time to focus…I tried many things to distract myself and it works…But,it’s only for awhile…Once I meet you,or knowing that I’ll be meeting you,Mina,my body keeps doing the same thing over and over,behaving strangely…There’s also this heat on my face everytime I try to hide this…Why is this happening,Mina?I kinda know what is this but at the same time,I can’t grasp what I’m actually f-feeling…Can you tell me about it?”

Chaeyoung looked up as her eyes then met Mina’s who were on her since the beginning.The Japanese girl’s face was flustered and the same went for the Korean who was still patiently waiting for the answer.

Mina’s POV

This is bad.Very bad.My heart is thumping really loud.Is it because of her not understanding her feelings yet that she’s bold like this?Chaeyoung was just describing her new feelings to me but this feelings of hers…It’s the same as mine…

End of Mina’s POV

“It’s because I want you to be my friend,right?”

The cub made her assumption,surprising the penguin who's lost at words at last.

“E-ehh?”

- To be continued -

Hey guys~Another chapter for you hehe~So,how's the story going for now?Hope it's not too boring~Tell me what you think kayy~See ya in the next chapter :)