Through the days of being together, Myoui Mina was far from being real. For Son Chaeyoung, she wouldn't be so surprised if she found out that she had been hallucinating all along from the time that they were together. Mina is kind-hearted, down to earth, quiet, elegant, smart, and selfless. She attends her classes on time, gets in the university with stocked knowledge about lessons to be taken, cooks and bakes good foods and treats, a certified organ donor, and most of all, special to Chaeyoung's heart. To sum it up, almost possessing what could be considered as perfect for her. Well, except for one thing, she was too much of an indoor person. There was nothing wrong to it except for the fact that it was bad for her stature – lying too much and studying for hours weren't positive routines for the penguin's body – so Chaeyoung had to do something about it. It was her duty or maybe her instinct to do something about the alarming habits.

Today, the tiger cub woke up earlier than expected for her morning runs. The sun had just risen from the east and the buildings around were barely basked by sunlight. She zipped up her tracksuit since she didn't want her body to completely cool down yet – despite her accomplished first lap – and because the cold passing wind was lightly kissing the bareness of her abdomen, stinging and prickling quite a bit. Chaeyoung was a runner ever since she was young. From the time she met Jeongyeon, she remembered how she usually sprinted behind her to keep up with her longer strides as they played together. During high school, she was also an active track and field member and might she add, one of the best. Running just really has a big part in her besides the fact that she enjoys it dearly. For a tiger, she was bad with water. She never learned how to swim and had only grown accustomed with her frog tube. Every time they went on the beach when she was a kid, the inflated floater was always found attached on her waist.

For her, running was the closest thing to swimming. Experience swimmers had stated swimming wasn't just a race on water but it was also a race with one's heart. For Chaeyoung, running was the same. She set out a finish line as she tried her best to reach that goal without passing out of the blue. Not that she was a masochist, but she enjoyed the feeling of lacking oxygen. She enjoyed the true challenge to herself, and every time she ran, she pictured that she was under water – heading for that inhabited island. She heaved and sprinted faster as she tried to beat the sun. Chaeyoung wanted to reach the door of her apartment before the sun had completely risen up to the sky. The shorter girl controlled her breathing and set a comfortable rhythm for herself. Not many people or runners, just like herself, were already present on the sidewalks. She didn't bring her phone so she looked out for the time from her digital wristwatch. 5:07 am, enough of time to pull the penguin out of bed and join her to her morning run before first period.

The cub looked from her left and right before she crossed the road. Cars of early workers were already passing to her sight from time to time. She continued her run, straight up ahead, then left, then she crossed from the front of the diner beside her apartment, and finally to the entrance. The staffs who took turns in the front desk already knew and were used to her frequent visits. They had seen the tiger cub dropped by in the morning during weekends and in the afternoon during weekdays when she had to walk the penguin back to her unit. Since the elegant girl was a hard-core homebody, they usually spent their days together inside her apartment. She, herself, preferred it that way. The cub was a really private person and she wouldn't have Dahyun, Tzuyu, or her best friend – Jeongyeon – to hear her lame or mature jokes around her. She didn't want to be seen as someone jelly soft if they heard her complimented the penguin, because she usually does when they were alone by themselves. Not even bothered to take the working elevator, Chaeyoung directly headed for the stairs – sparing only a glance to the man by the front desk.

She moved her feet alternately as she ascended to the eighth floor of the building. Passing through the hallway, she knocked on the door fuelled by heated vigour before letting some steam out of her by ping her tracksuit. The cub could've rang her door and spoke to the recorder, but she had the intent to disturb the girl and woke her up from the warmth of her dreamland. The knocking on the door lasted for about three minutes and seven seconds, until she heard faint lazy footsteps from the inside of the apartment number. The door slowly opened and then followed by an audible groan of the owner. Bed hair, long oversize sleepwear, and eyes still half closed, "Sana or Momo, I'm not concern with whatever's going on with your mind for this early morning," the elegant girl mumbled as she rubbed her right eye with her hand. Well, this is an adorable sight, the cub chortled before she cleared , "Try opening your eyes completely so you wouldn't have to guess who disturbed you this early in the morning." Mina followed and saw a very sweaty cub – her fringe was sticking to her wet forehead. Down and lower, well, she was still profusely sweating. From there, the penguin's natural sleepiness simply vanished in thin air. "Good morning," the shorter girl interrupted her little eyes adventure.

The penguin blinked her eyes, a little embarrassed how she was caught staring down to her toned abdomen, her baby and underdeveloped abs were still noticeable. "Good morning," she replied as she furrowed her brows to focus her vision to her face and not to her sweaty muscles – like a normal person and not a creep. Before she could've asked her about her purpose, Chaeyoung stepped closer and into her place. "Change your clothes," the cub commanded in hurry, "We're running." Mina could only blink her eyes again for three reasons. One, she didn't really exercise not unless Momo had dragged her to the nearest gym, for her to exercise other muscles and not just her brain or eyes. Two, she wasn't a very good runner. For anyone's information, she waddles on daily basis. Lastly, three, she didn't think that she was up to run on the streets while being distracted by her sight. That was too much of early sinning for her Friday. The cub clapped her paws loudly to snap the penguin out of her long train of thoughts, "Come on, we're losing the good sunlight," she stated. Mina shook her head and replied, "Running is not really for me," she paused, "And it's too early, Chaeng. I want to go back to bed."

Chaeyoung closed the gap between them and held the elegant girl by her waist, "But you're always on your bed especially when you're not sitting in front of your study table," she stated while looking at her, and at the same time, convincing her with her own eyes. Mina closed her eyes and groaned softly – still reluctant to follow the shorter girl's advice. "Look, it's either you're lying down or sitting, and you barely get any sunlight on your skin," the cub began to explain, "You're already up so why not comply with my wishes?" The penguin slowly opened her eyes and watched her facial feature carefully. It wasn't like the cub only made up those statements because she was pretty much correct about everything. She squeezed her waist ever so lightly and tried to appeal to her, "Come on," she cooed, "Mina," she dragged how she said her name and she only stopped when she heard her let a defeated sigh. "Fine," the taller one answered, head shaking sideways, "I'll accompany you to your run," she smiled before retracting herself from the other. "You'll feel so much better after this," the cub roared from her spot as she watched her disappeared in her bedroom. Few minutes later, Mina excused herself to freshen up in her bathroom and then joined the waiting girl on the couch. "Ready?" the cub beamed then she stood from the seat. The moment she opened her eyes after she had closed it earlier was the moment she broke her resolve because how could anyone say no to that adorable face of hers.

She nodded her head and answered honestly, "I'm really starting to regret it but I am," she worriedly eyed her and clearly added, "Kind of ready." Chaeyoung laughed before she pecked one of her cheeks and led them out of the unit. Mina was almost dragging her heavy limbs as she followed her. "We'll take the stairs to warm you up," the cub informed her – smile seemed visible to her happy statement even without looking directly to her. The penguin prayed for herself internally because the first thing they got to do was to descend down to eight damning floors.

They walked out of her unit and into the hallway before opening the door to hell. Mina struggled with her breathing as they went down – the product of her rusty muscles. Back when the cub and the dragon fought, did she really manage to rush down effortlessly in this flight of stairs? "You okay back there?" Chaeyoung asked as she squeezed her hand while working her legs like a pro athlete. The penguin could only hum to her, afraid that her voice would squeak from the deflation of her oxygen supply. After conquering the stairs, she was already actually considering to set a healthy morning routine for herself like the cub's, but when they started the actual running, she reminded herself to never repeat this morning activity, ever!

For the moment she started running, Mina quickly broke out of her skin – sweating under the dark blue tracksuit that Momo lent her just in case they will visit the gym together. She was obviously lagging from her coordinated steps, so not long in the process, she insisted the cub to leave her and go on with her usual pace because she was only slowing her down and she didn’t want to further embarrass herself. They continued their run with the penguin being few steps behind the tiger cub. She felt the activity was too grueling for her as she felt her hair stuck on the backside of her neck.

The route they took seemed very familiar and she thought that they already took it once from before. She was really struggling to breathe through her nose and her eyes started to blur from the lack of oxygen and the disorganised rhythm of her breathing. Up ahead, she saw the cub standing and waiting for her at the bottom of the concrete stairs, so the sight at least made her a little happy. She endured her weeping muscles and her screaming lungs. Not until she reached her, for that matter. There was the least elegance in her when she stood in front of her. She threw her head back as she heaved shamelessly, "So tired," she expressed to the sky – her voice hoarse. Chaeyoung chuckled to her as she also enjoyed the sight of a sweating penguin.

"Please, don't laugh," Mina had to pause to breathe more, "It was really hard." She watched the girl stared at her – finding the sticking fringe on her forehead really cute. Her fringe really matched her shortened mane. The cub turned her back to the penguin and bent down towards the last step of the stairs, reaching for something. It was a half-empty bottled water that was probably from one of the vending machines that they passed through their taken route. She faced her again and then inched closer to her with a soft proud smile. "Here," she uncapped the bottle and offered it to the elegant girl which she automatically accepted. Chaeyoung then held Mina's free hand into her right hand and started ascending to the concrete stairs.

Mina probably forgot about it because the surroundings seemed different from the first time they walked into that stairs since it was night back then, but it didn't change the fact that it was the same place that they visited from their second date – where Chaeyoung told her about everything. Her heart suddenly beat uncontrollably as the cub led her upstairs. She closed her eyes as she hopelessly calmed her raging heart. The treasured memories surged into her. The memories of Chaeyoung's feelings, words, and true self echoed for each beat of her heart. "Something's wrong?" the cub asked worriedly when she witnessed her eyes were shut close and her other hand unconsciously gripping the bottle – seeming like the idea of actually drinking it was forgotten. She shook her head and then tried to smile at her. Chaeyoung played the bottle cap on her other hand while waiting for her words. "It's just that I remember our night there," she said and gestured ahead of them, "And I remember it clearly and I'm still overwhelmed by you," she ended her words with an intense stare directly to her round eyes.

Chaeyoung's mouth gaped and she felt her words strongly shot through her heart – making her to put her other hand to her chest and to blush slightly. She only cleared as a form of response, unable to say something back to her, before she continued her task of leading the penguin. There were just those simple and unexpected times where Mina will effortlessly make her heart thumped like an excited kid waiting for her good night kiss. The kid who will excitedly stretched out her arms into the air as she eagerly waited for the forehead kiss that her young lover will spare for the night. The tiny body will have a sudden adrenaline rush and will only be tamed by a sedating kiss. That was Son Chaeyoung every time Myoui Mina managed to effortlessly and honestly voice out her feelings. "Is something wrong?" the penguin asked right before they reached the top. She squeezed the paw softly to call the attention of the quiet wondering cub.

Not wanting to make the penguin worry about her flustered heart, the cub answered, "Nothing's wrong," she smiled before facing the direction of the beaming sun. "I just thought that it's much better to let you catch your breath in front of a beautiful view," she explained. Chaeyoung wasn't technically lying because she had the same intent as her statement, but she also wasn't completely honest. Her heart was still saved from explaining itself to her penguin. "Let's spare at least ten minutes before we go back," she smiled and then leaned down to place her lips to her left shoulder. She could smell the scent of the elegant girl seeping through her dark blue tracksuit. The penguin's heart skipped to the domestic act as she smiled down before finally deciding to drink the forgotten bottled water in her other hand. She looked ahead of them – to the far buildings and the close neighbourhood – without minding the comfortable tiger on her shoulder. She drank the liquid content slowly, letting her heart calmed as the water flowed back into her body.

"Indirect kiss," Chaeyoung commented from the very same position earlier except that her nose was scrunched cutely on top of the ball of her shoulder. The penguin pulled the mouth of the bottle away from her lips before she answered, "If I have to remind you, we already kissed each other on lips," she smiled brightly like the morning sun. The cub let go of her hand, capped the bottle, nudged her nose to her shoulder, and finally hugged her closer, "I'm just saying," she replied adorably. Mina chuckled, completely enjoying the extra affection for her morning. "I'm so proud of you for joining me today," she heard her murmured to her clothed shoulder – heated breaths seeping through the material of her tracksuit. She smiled softly from the compliment as she felt her pulled her closer.

"But we're not done yet," the cub added, making the penguin tensed in her embrace. She smiled softly – still enjoying the new and added flavour on her scent, "We're also running back to your place." She heard Mina groaned so she peppered the span of her left shoulder with little kisses while encouraging her with indicated words that she could do it. They spent a little longer on their spot with the beautiful view until they finally consumed the spared ten minutes. Chaeyoung led her down the stairs and then urged her to have a head start. Mina, despite being against to the strenuous activity, obliged and ran ahead of her. She just continuously reminded herself that what the cub was doing was for her own good.

The penguin was slow, but for the second time around, she didn't felt her muscles to be burdened that much by running. She tried her best to control her breathing as she set out a rhythm to her feet – she was slowly learning. When she passed through a trash bin, she threw the empty bottle into it. She smiled because her attempt was a great success. Mina kept her focus to her surrounding, careful not to bump into anyone and to be aware of moving cars. She slowly realised that her feet were lagging, and halfway back to her apartment building, running turned into walking. The penguin might've had the taste of the activity but doing it for the first didn't mean that she could perfect it. Sooner or later, Chaeyoung caught up to her with confused eyes – albeit sweating, her breathing was absolutely fine. The cub jogged backwards in front of her as she eyed the tired penguin, "Hey, what's up?" she said as if she didn't run at all when in fact it was already her second lap. The taller girl didn't answer, ashamed that she had given up halfway back to her place.

The cub stopped, knowing the penguin’s tired self before placing herself beside her – both having the same pace now. "I'm sorry," Mina heaved, her breathing hadn't normalised yet, "Running isn't just for me." Running was totally different from dancing, or ballet to be more exact. Unlike her expertise, she lacked the knowledge about the limitations of the cub's morning routine. For her, ballet was easier. She could set out a definite plan or see a complete overview of the piece before she could move, twirl, and project her body. In short, she had everything set before she could dance, and not like running, where paths to be taken could easily change at any possible circumstances. It was a little indefinite for her. They could take a longer route or they could take shortcuts, but overall, she had to keep it together and endure everything. Through their time together, she knew full well that she wasn’t a superhuman and that she could give up into certain limitations that she could face in herself.

“Don’t worry,” the cub snapped her out of her quiet thoughts – sensing the palpable anxiousness in her, “You did great.” She smiled reassuringly and held her hand again. The act of holding hands became an unsaid practice to calm one another. This made the penguin to feel at ease, both because of her smile and their connected hands, “Thank you,” she replied then added, “For doing this for me. I really appreciate this, Chaeng.” The shorter girl nodded and smiled to the pavement where they were walking, her gratitude sounded so pleasing to her floppy ears. “Although for this morning, I already feel like my limbs are complaining for agreeing with you,” the elegant girl honestly said, making the other girl to burst out of laughter. They walked quietly – feet with the same pace and hearts with the same rhythm. The two took one step at a time as they closed the penguin’s apartment building, glancing to each other from time to time.

Chaeyoung turned her head to her direction and smiled when she saw actual sunlight kissing the skin on her right cheek. Her eyes seemed to glitter from the lighting, and the cub was reminded how beautiful and ethereal the elegant girl was. She smiled once before she opened , “You’re so beautiful, Mina,” she said while offering a lopsided grin. The penguin was taken aback by her sudden compliment. The cub always does that like an unconscious habit, but for every time she did, her heart always seemed to be taken by surprise and she would know for a fact by the time it skipped a beat from her words. It was a typical and natural reaction of her heart. “I think if I get you to be under the morning sun more often, you’ll bloom flowers in your hair,” the shorter girl added lamely. Each time they were together, Chaeyoung would find herself throwing compliments that were beyond belief while Mina would find herself loving her even greater. The elegant girl let out a quiet laugh as she covered with the back of her free hand, “Should I repeatedly say photosynthesis, too, while I’m under the sunlight?” she mumbled.

“Mock me all you want but I have a great feeling about it,” the cub replied, her free hand and lifting it to the air for strong indication, "It's definitely possible." The penguin hummed happily – her gummy smile couldn’t be contained, “I understand, I’ve learned that there’s always room for new discoveries in science.” She laughed again at her before deciding to pull and lead her to their direction. Chaeyoung was a little bit surprised before she followed the penguin’s sudden enthusiasm for running. There wasn’t much left distance to cover, so they arrived after a good amount of alternating steps. The shorter girl decided to spare her companion and headed to the elevator. Despite the lack of conversation, they were happy and content even with just the secret glances and their warm connected hands. Their bodies started to cool and the sweat on their skins started to dissipate. The elevator dinged and they quietly left it empty.

Mina unlocked her door and walked inside along with the art student. "Can you stay for breakfast?" she asked as she let go of her hand and walked to her kitchen. The cub eyed her carefully, quite forgetting how to respond to her. "Chaeyoung?" the penguin checked as she looked back to her. She shook her head when she heard a little of hint of concern in her voice, "Sorry, I can't," she smiled apologetically to her, "I forgot to bring my phone with me." She glanced down to her left wrist and then added, "And by the looks of it, Jeongyeon had already prepared our breakfast." The taller girl sighed before smiling back to her, "You're right." Chaeyoung pursed her lips, "I'm really sorry, she kind of gets scary when it comes to the idea of wasting food. Their family owns a restaurant after all." Mina chuckled to the worried cub – leaning her back to the counter of her kitchen, "It's okay; let's just meet up during campus break."

The cub sighed again, looking more worried than ever, "I never thought the day will come that I will declare it that I need to study in the library," she walked to the back of the couch and leaned to it. She was looking at Mina across the room with sad eyes. "It's fine, Chaeng. Don't worry about it," the penguin offered a small smile as if she wasn't saddened by her words. Their hearts were already starting to miss each other. "I skipped too many classes that I have to double my efforts," the cub explained, her eyes looking away in shame, "I have to study previous lessons before I can make progress with my piled works." Mina still smiled to her, trying to reassure her. "I think, I have to take this coming weekend, too," the art student added as she rubbed the back of her neck.

The penguin froze on her spot, smile disappearing as her heart was suddenly pierced by a different height of sadness. "That's a bit longer than I thought," she chuckled uncomfortably, heart now stinging for every beat. "Yeah and I'm sorry, Mina," Chaeyoung replied – now fiddling with her fingers. "It's okay," she answered back to her because that was the only response that she needed to give. "Can you at least stay for a cup of coffee before you leave?" she asked as she looked at her in the eyes. The cub bit her lower lip, thinking whether she should stay or not. She let go of her mindful thoughts and nodded. Mina smiled in delight to her answer and then faced her back to her, now busying herself to prepare two cups of coffee.

The hair on the back of her head parted on her neck as she looked down to the cups on the countertop, her new exposed skin was still visibly damp from sweat. The tiger cub, on the other hand, just couldn't take her eyes off of her. She controlled her breathing because she had never felt so powerless to the involuntary cycle – not until she felt the sudden need to be with her. Was it because of the following busy days that she was feeling the sudden strong desire for the elegant girl? The desire that as if primal. The primal desire that she needed to quench or die trying. Without realising it and even while trying to keep her distance from her earlier, she was now standing behind the busy penguin. "Mina," she whispered as if drunken by her sole presence. Mina hummed when she heard her. She felt her approached her spot even closer as she put the kettle of water on her left side and into the stove. "Mina," the cub repeated before she encircled her arms to her waist, acting greedy of her. Her body tensed not just from the call of her name, but to the way how Chaeyoung was now running her nose to the skin of her nape.

She swallowed the lump in , feeling how the cub was enjoying sniffing her scent. The tiger opened and let the upper row of her sharp teeth grazed affectionately on the back of her neck. "Chaeyoung," she was barely able to whisper, her voice abandoning her. Hold tightening on her waist, she felt wandering tongue explored the span of her skin – a different kind of heat starting to grow on the both them. Chaeyoung parted her hair to one side, leaving the other side of her neck to be completely defenceless from her skilful attacks. She leaned down and started to adorn her with open-mouthed kisses. She tasted a bit salty from the sweat, but still sweet enough for her taste buds. Her right arm started to have its own mind and reached for the penguin's collar. "Mina," she panted before she pulled it gently to latch her lips on deeper and hidden skin beneath her tracksuit. The elegant girl shut her eyes and gasped when she felt her teeth grazing o