Momo was in so much pain.

Come on, Momo. Come on, come on, come on.

She reached as hard as she could.

Momo, you can do it…..!

Straining her arms, she groaned painfully.

Until she finally reached her toes with her fingertips.

God, you’re so unflexible.

Her muscles were uncomfortably stretched to its max, so she remained in that position until it became too much to bear. Momo flopped down on the floor, heaving. Ugh, she was sweating so much.

She rubbed the sweat from her brow, looking up at the ceiling. The sounds machines clanking, of people walking faded away for a long time already.  Without looking at her phone, she knew she’s been here for a while.

Sighing softly, she opted to do a bit of dancing instead of ruminating on her thoughts. She jogged to the practice room, though she still had a frown on her face.

Turning the song on, the lyrics rang throughout the room, engulfing Momo in the rhythm.

One, two, three, four. She counted the beats in the song before it engaged into the chorus.

Her shoes squeaked on the vinyl floor.  The song was fast paced but she could keep up with it. Well, until she heard the door open. That wasn’t what made Momo stop in her tracks. It was because the song ended. As you would know, it’s kind of hard to dance when there’s no music to dance to.

“Momorin….. you’re working way too hard.” Mina put down her backpack and waved around a plastic bag with a box inside. “Here, I have something for you.”

“Oh, thank you…” Momo jogged to Mina, wiping her own sweat with her towel. “…..What’re you doin’ here? It’s pretty late.”

“For ISAC. Practice. I’ve just heard that I’d be in it….It’s bit different than ballet, but I think….I want do it well.”

“…Don’t worry too much. You’re good at these things, Miguri.”

“Ah, you think?”

Momo nodded silently, her gaze unwavering. Mina held the stare for a second but glanced away shyly, instead rummaging into her bag for something. A strange silence set in, that kind of made Momo uncomfortable. She wasn’t too used to Mina not saying anything; on the contrary, she talked quite a lot around her.

“….What’s in the plastic bag?” Momo raised the bag to eye level.

Mina chuckled a bit, “Look in it, Momorin.” She pulled out a big hoop from all the mess from her bag. How did it fit in there, she would never know. Squinting at Mina, she did check.

 A wide smile was plastered on her face once she saw the sliced meat dripping in sauce in the small bag. Jokbal, her favourite. She felt Mina staring at her and looked at the girl, still smiling. “….Thank you..”

“A-ah, no problem…” Mina laughed quickly, and rubbed her long fingers together.

“Eat it with me.”

“Oh, I-I don’t need-“

“You’ll get hungry, Miguri.”

“….. After I’m done practicing this….” Mina fiddled her pointe shoes, with her hands, “I’ll take a bite.”

Momo, satisfied with that answer, put down the bag on the floor and helped Mina install the camera to help her practice.

“Ready