"Oh, hello there."

Usually, Mina would say hello back. Usually, Mina would appreciate people greeting her, even from strangers. They didn't mean any harm. They actually made the effort to notice her.

But usually, these greetings weren't uttered by someone hanging from her open window, whose fingertips were grabbing unto its ledge as if her life depended on it.

"Alright," Mina started as she put down her groceries. "Before I call the police, I'm sure you have a good explanation for this."

She had just came home to her appartment and realized that she had left her window open, but didn't expect to see... a person. The girl at her window was oddly calm, considering one slip could injure her severely. It was as if she was used to living on the... edge.

No, Mina didn't let her in, no matter how pretty she may have looked. Mina didn't want to help a random stranger into her house before she knew what was happening. For all she knew, she could be a serial killer. (And not a very good one, at that.)

"I'm not going to kill you," the girl said, seemingly reading Mina's mind.

"Then what's in your bag?"

The hooded figure uncomfortably shuffled around, and tightened her grip on the window sill. She blankly stared at Mina, wondering if she was really going to make her open her bag in her current state.

"Oh," Mina realized. She was bothered by the fact that she just got one-upped by someone who didn't even reply. 

They spent a few moments awkwardly staring at each other, not knowing who should speak up first. Mina lifted an eyebrow, indicating she was still waiting for an explanation. Having no other options, the girl cleared to speak up.

"Um..." the girl's eyes shifted around, looking for an excuse as to why she was there. "Parkour gone wrong?"

She ended her sentence with a trying smile, hoping it was enough to let her go. It was then when Mina saw her set of bunny teeth. The girl was obviously lying. But she is kind of cute... Mina thought, and immediately shook away the thought.

Mina eventually helped the girl inside by grabbing unto her fingers, that were more slender than they looked. The girl looked like she was slowly getting weak, and Mina didn't want to be the one charged for murder by forcing her to jump down.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," the girl formally apologized as she bowed and rushed out of Mina's household, not even bothering to dust off the dirt on her sweats.

She couldn't believe what had happened as she stared at the dirty foot tracks she now had to clean up. 

Mina tried to convince herself that the reason she let the girl go was because she technically didn't do anything wrong. But she told herself that the next time she saw the girl anywhere near her window again, calling the police would be the first thing she would do.

Mina also tried to convince herself that the reason she kept thinking about the girl's unique smile was to use it as evidence later on.

-

Mina was baffled. 

She didn't know if it was because she never looked around when she was driving or walking, but she started to notice a familiar looking figure everywhere she went.

Whether it was exiting a shop nearby, walking across the street from her, taking the bus that always passed near her place, or even walking out of a close-by appartment building.

Mina couldn't do anything about it, because she wasn't really hanging at her window again. And she restrained herself from waving at her, because she technically wasn't supposed to know her.

Maybe she just moved in to her neighbourhood and lived close? Mina wasn't sure. 

But what Mina was sure of was that she couldn't go a couple of days before catching the girl in the corner of her eye, and the girl seemed to quickly hide every time they accidentally made eye contact.

-

Crap, she saw me.

Nayeon quickly rushed into the closest alley to hide from that girl. She couldn't believe she kept getting caught by her. Well, she wasn't trying that hard to get away from her to begin with.

Crap, she saw me again. Why is she still walking on this street?

She put her hood over her beanie and ran off to somewhere further. She wasn't stalking the girl, she really wasn't. 

She was just doing her job. And she just randomly chose to do her job in the same neighbourhood as the pretty girl she saw a few weeks ago. Obviously.

Nayeon found herself being grateful for almost falling to her death, because without it, she wouldn't have 'met' her.

She didnt know what it was about her luscious red hair, or the sweet smell of vanilla that she was wearing, or even her menacing stare, but she felt a slight attraction towards her. Nayeon regretfully also had to wash the hand she touched, the hand she blessed.

Nayeon just had to see her more often. And she was just having trouble finding ways to see her without looking suspicious or borderline creepy.

-

Mina was driving home late after doing overtime at the office. She turned the volume of the radio higher to listen to the news of multiple robberies happening in her area. The police were suspecting a number of different thieves, as they stole things ranging from random candy bars in dollar stores to expensive antiques from people's households. Mina shuddered at the fact that they were all not caught yet, and hoped she wasn't next on their list.

She listened to how the most recent robbery was of a painting found in one of the mansions near her place as she saw the familiar girl jogging on the streets again. She brushed it off, as it was now a common occurence.

As Mina drove closer, she was surprised that she was actually holding something other than her black jansport. Mina wondered what it was, because the girl was struggling trying to run with it. It kind of looked like...

Wait a minute.

Mina quickly drove past her and parked further away. She wasn't going to let the girl get away now that she knew what she was. Well, what Mina suspected she was.

So when I found the girl at my window, she was actually trying to rob me? And I let her go? Unbelievable.

She got out of her car as soon as she saw the silhouette approaching and stopped the girl in her tracks.

"You!" Mina accused. It was dark, but Mina was sure the girl recognized her. "You're not hanging at my window, so do you mind showing me what you're holding?"

The girl froze on the spot. She couldn't come up with a good excuse, nor did she want to push Mina to the ground and run away. Mina held her stare, as the red and blue lights and sirens of an approaching vehicle lightened up her face.

"You-" Mina started, but was interrupted by the girl's hand over . Mina found herself shoved into one of the walls of a small passageway. 

Mina thought that this whole situation would be considered romantic, if only the person in front of her wasn't her local robber. But when big glossy eyes were staring right at her and asking her to go check if the police were gone, she couldn't help but comply.

She slowly peeked over the alley, and-

Wait, why am I doing this again?

She was supposed to scold the thief, and bring her over to the police, so why exactly was she the one to check if they were gone? Why was she sneaking around when she didn't do anything wrong?

"Hey, you-" Mina turned around, finally remembering why she stopped the girl in the first place, but to find her missing. She had ran off once again.

Mina bit her lip and sighed out in frustration. She couldn't believe how much stress she was going through because of one girl.

Next time, Mina. Next time for sure, she thought to herself.

-

And so began their annoying game of cat and mouse.

On one side, Mina was determined to catch the girl in her tracks. Mina found it ridiculous. For a supposed burglar, the girl was extremely easy to spot (or maybe it was because Mina was only looking for her in a crowd).

But the only difficulty she had was trying to catch her. The girl had an endless supply of energy when she ran from a store, and occasionally from Mina, who was trying her best to run after her.

Mina found herself panting too hard to continue, wondering why she never used her car instead, or she found herself in rather awkward situations. (She didn't want to recall the time she screamed at someone wearing the same hoodie, or grabbed the wrong person in a shop. Or when she found herself in a stranger's backyard after jumping over a fence.)

This mysterious girl, no, this criminal, was taking up too much of her time, and sometimes taking up too many of her thoughts. Mina had to put an end to it.

On the other side, Nayeon was amused about taking the role of the 'mouse'. 

She didn't know the pretty girl was going to end up trying to chase Nayeon down, and so she took advantage of it. Sometimes she chose the most crowded of places. Sometimes she chose a shop where someone was wearing a similar outfit. And sometimes, she chose the weirdest of paths to escape, checking over to see if the girl was actually going to follow her.

And for some reason, she did. She did climb that fence.

Nayeon was enjoying herself. When she was far enough from the girl (or when the girl gave up), Nayeon found somewhere to hide and watched. She stared at the girl trying to catch her breath, and most of the time cursing herself from running too much. It was obvious the girl didn't know why she was doing this, and it made Nayeon smile. It seemed like the girl took an interest in her as well.

(Although she was just going to ignore the fact that the girl might be interested in getting Nayeon arrested.)

-

One day, Mina found a note at her door. 

" 'Please stop following me'," she read aloud.

She wondered who would even leave a message like this for her, until she remembered a certain girl that she was basically pursuing these past weeks.

"She.. Isn't she the one always following me?" Mina asked herself, confused about who was doing anything anymore.

"I'm not always following you," a voice suddenly said behind her.

Mina squealed in surprise, as she turned around to face the person who managed to sneak up on her. It was her.

"But please stop following me," she continued, repeating the message on the note.

It has been a long time since Mina had a good look at the girl. She finally got to see her properly for once, and not from an unflattering angle, not in the darkness, and not from a distance of more than 20 meters (a/n yes i use the metric system i do not live in the US) running away. Not that Mina wanted to look.

The girl's hood was down to reveal her long, black hair. She was still wearing her usual baggy hoodie and sweats combo, but Mina couldn't help herself from being charmed by the girl. She was around the same height as Mina, and therefore the same eye-level, but all Mina could stare at were her teeth again, and her lips, and-

She blinked away her thoughts. She wasn't about to get enamoured by the neighbourhood thief. (Not again).

"Then stop stealing things," Mina stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She couldn't let this girl get away with anything anymore. 

"Please, I..." The girl paused, hesitating on what she should say next. "I do this for a living."

And from then on, Mina knew she lost. 

It didn't matter if the girl was scamming her, and she probably was. But Mina couldn't reply. She didn't even question why she was stealing from others for a living.

It was the look in the girl's eyes that got to her. It was the sudden softness and authenticity in her eyes that made Mina somehow sympathize with her.

The girl nodded after passing her message and swiftly left again. The only thing she was good at doing was leaving Mina speechless and running off.

"My... My name is Mina, by the way!" Mina found herself yelling back at the girl, after finding her voice again.

She didn't know why she did that. She really didn't know why she did that. Mina entered her home, extremely embarrassed. Why was she being so awkward?

The girl didn't even ask for her name. And the girl probably wasn't going to ask. In fact, this probably made it easier for the girl if she was actually a serial killer.

So why the hell did I give her my name?

-

The next day, M