//note: I know very little of the Japanese and even Korean but for the sake of showing differences between the two, I will italicise conversations in Japanese and bold or CAPITALISE mispronounced syllables or letters. It will not be as good as the real thing but let us exercise our imaginations and put or feel a little life to this chapter.

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As annoyed as Dahyun was, she drilled a heated gaze to the No Jam’s bathroom door. Hearing unpleasant sounds emanated behind it, she grimaced in disgust with furrowed brows. Jeongyeon – amused by the sight – placed a plate of dinner in front of the seated eagle. Unpleasant sounds soon stopped and turned into the sound of running water. Dahyun squinted her eyes when she saw Chaeyoung opened the bathroom door and emerged from it. “I thought some old man was in there,” she said, directing to the unbothered cub as she took a mouthful of the offered free dinner. “Oh, hey,” the art student greeted and quickly disappeared into her room, not minding her friend’s apparent opinion to her. As soon as she left her room, Dahyun sent her another question. “Why were you brushing your teeth like an old man?” the tofu asked, pointing the tips of her chopsticks at her friend. Chaeyoung let go of her bag and placed her hands on her waist, “It’s a new habit, Dahyun.” “And a disgusting one,” the eagle pitched in. “It’s necessary,” the cub replied, before checking the contents of her huge bag. She pulled out her passport and smiled to it, “It turns Mina off,” she added, sending a stern look to her curious friend.

Dahyun once again grimaced, “Somehow, I don’t want to know what’s that about,” she said – earning herself a laugh from the silver dragon. Chaeyoung put her passport back into her bag and lifted a strap to her shoulder, “I should go and meet Mina,” she informed with an excited and nervous smile. “Don’t you think that you’re bringing a huge bag just for a movie night?” the eagle asked with food currently inside of . Before the cub could take her first step to the penguin’s apartment, she replied nonchalantly, “Oh, we’re flying to Japan so I can finally meet her parents.” Dahyun’s eyes widened and suddenly malfunctioned, causing her to cough poorly after she slightly choked with her food, “Really?” she asked – both amazed and slightly jealous for she also has a special girl from the said country. “Yeah,” the younger girl answered and shrugged her shoulder, “Would you mind accompanying your girlfriend with Needy? Mina said Momo unnie couldn’t help out.” “Sure,” the music student replied with a pout, “But you’re already meeting Mina unnie’s parents?” The cub sighed deeply, “Yes, Dahyun, I am really meeting her parents,” she said, quite agitated of her currently nerve-wracking situation, “Stop asking me questions because you’re making me more nervous.” The pale girl nodded and raised her hands in the air, “Okay, jeez, talk about being cranky.” Shoulders loosening, Chaeyoung tried to compose herself, “Great, I’ll see you guys again on Sunday.” She pursed her lips, awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, and then anxiously smiled to them. “Chaeng,” Jeongyeon interrupted, calling back her attention again to their table, “Don’t forget to have fun,” smiling reassuringly, “Especially with and for Mina.” The cub let out a long sigh before taking a deep breath, “Yeah,” she replied. She once again secured the strap of her bag on her shoulder and moved herself closer to the door. Looking back to the dragon and the eagle, she said nervously, “Ittekimasu.” (I’ll go and I’ll come back/see you later)

“Ah,” Jeongyeon hummed as she nodded her head, “That explains the Japanese dictionary on her night table,” she said and informed the other freshman on her left.

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Hand in hand, Chaeyoung led the both of them to their designated seats inside the plane. “I’m kind of worried with Sana taking full responsibility of Needy,” Mina stated as they walked in the aisle. They took time to sit down before the cub could reply, “I know that you will be,” she said, looking at her, “So I asked Dahyun in advance to accompany her.” “Thank you,” the penguin replied with a smile before pulling her hand closer to her lips and then kissing its fingers one by one. “But can you actually believe that Momo’s busy with university stuff?” she asked, warm breaths caressing the skin of her hand. “Not sure,” the art student blurted – tone neutral and eyes darting nowhere near the elegant girl’s. Mina blinked her eyes in confusion before she adjusted herself, so she could look on the presently anxious girl, “Are you okay?” she questioned softly – expression full of new worries. “Yeah,” Chaeyoung said before shaking her head, “Just super nervous, that’s all,” she chuckled awkwardly, her spine tensing even further. The other girl sighed quietly before she brought her shoulders back to the backrest of her own seat, “I’ve told you, there’s nothing to be worried or nervous about this,” she reassured, thumb mindlessly and soothingly running on the cub’s paw. “They are just excited and really looking forward to finally meet you,” she added while looking to her left side. Worries clear in her creased brows, the younger girl answered – gesturing to the space between their bodies, “Exactly why I’m nervous with all of these.” She pulled the pocket-size dictionary from her coat and began to waved it in front of the elegant girl, “What if I disappoint them with myself? I mean with how I am, I’m not that good and on top of it, my Japanese still .” Then, she began eyeing a bookmarked page, and as good as she could muster, she added, “My nAme is Son Chaeyoung,” furrowing her brows as she read, “Nice to meeT you.”

The penguin bit her lower lip before looking away and placing a hand to to stifle herself from laughing at the trying baby cub. When she had composed herself again, she returned her attention to Chaeyoung and reassuringly stated, “It’s understandable, you just started practicing and learning your Japanese for only a week.” She stared at the groaning tiger with a content smile and added happily, “Plus it’s really adorable how you cutely pronounce and mispronounce your words.” “I’m really trying my best here,” Chaeyoung playfully argued – feigning hurt by dramatically placing a hand to her chest, “So you can’t call me cute nor adorable.” Head falling to the younger one’s straight shoulder, Mina laughed softly and murmured under her breath, “Kimi ga kawai sugiru.” (You are too cute)

With their shoulders pressed together, the plane slowly began to take off. “I assure you,” Mina continued softly, “You won’t disappoint because I know them.” Chaeyoung pulled out her phone and plugged her earphones before sharing it to the penguin. Before she played music from her phone, she replied, “You’re right, I’m sorry.” The elegant girl smiled softly before she leaned forward to kiss the cub’s lips ever so lightly – completely not minding if some stewardess would see them, “Besides, it won’t matter because I already choose you, Son Chaeyoung,” she said and then joining their lips again.

After their shared kiss, they wordlessly agreed to spend the rest of their travel in silence because they were literally fresh from the week’s classes. The penguin soon dozed off to a straight shoulder which the cub never minded as she crammed her learning progress using her trusty pocket-size dictionary. Chaeyoung didn’t notice it to herself but she soon followed the sleeping girl after few suppressed yawns. Sleeping sure was the closest to time travel, for they weren’t aware that they had arrived to their destination. Tired students were awoken by a female stewardess. “We’ve arrived already?” the cub asked, both eyeing the penguin and the plane assistant. “Seems like it,” Mina replied as she looked past the shorter girl and outside the clear glass window. The stewardess smiled before she left their half asleep states. After a good stretch, the penguin patted the cub’s nearest knee and said – standing up, “Come on.”

They walked behind other passengers as they lined up to get outside of the plane. After reuniting with their belongings, Chaeyoung’s hand quietly yet quickly sought Mina’s. She was in a different country and it dawned to her how she could be lost easily especially with her remarkable cute-size self. Plus, it was scary how her Japanese wasn’t that reliable if ever she managed to be separated from the Japanese beauty. Mindlessly, she began to press herself closer to the penguin’s warm body. The elegant girl faced her and spared her a questioning look. “Stay close,” she heard the cub uttered softly and she could only smile in return. “I don’t want to get lost,” Chaeyoung said, looking up worriedly into her eyes. Mina tightened her hold to her paw and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her forehead, “You won’t,” she whispered to her skin before she pulled away. “You’re stronger than you think,” she stated, smiling reassuringly at her. “My Japanese ,” the cub replied with furrowed brows and a cute pout. “Right,” Mina bowed her head in realisation as she let out a chuckle, “Then we should quickly head home.” She started to lead the way and kept Chaeyoung closely at her side.

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During the cab drive in what most likely Mina’s neighbourhood, Chaeyoung remained silent as she studied their route. She noticed the evident spaces houses after houses, an indeed big neighbourhood, and she could tell that rich families live in the area. After Mina specified a turn, the driver stopped the car and began to offer some help with their belongings. “Thank you,” the penguin said before bowing down to his service. The cub did the same before she started following the taller girl. After a short uphill walk, the first thing that greeted them was a gate which Mina coded in for them to get past inside. The cub looked around her new surrounding with amazement in her eyes. The centre view of her sight was, of course, the large house in a mixture of traditional and modern Japanese-style with a well-designed exterior and a flowery landscaping. It was built with three storeys and its general shape was architected differently from a typical squared idea. A very light rake of forefinger on Chaeyoung’s hand interrupted her internal artistic appreciation for the elegant house. Mina smiled at her before she pulled her to their house’s front door. “I’m so nervous, Mina,” the cub admitted as she watched the penguin’s finger inched closer and closer to the doorbell. “You’ll be fine,” the elegant girl smiled, and for the nth time, reassured her seemingly unending and persistent worries. In a flash when the door started moving, Mina was completely enveloped in a tight hug. Her mother had answered the door rather excitedly. Chaeyoung was lost for her words, so she just ended up with standing still and watching the mother and daughter heart-warming reunion. The older Myoui has short hair, good posture and healthy body, the same calming soft eyes like the penguin’s, and a mole that’s quite similar to the cub’s.

“I thought you’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow, princess,” the mother exclaimed while continuing to pepper her daughter’s face with kisses. Mina laughed happily because the kisses were effectively tickling her in the process. “Mom, please stop,” she said with her left arm still looped on her mother’s waist. Of course, she also missed her so much. “This is quite,” she stopped because of another laughter, “Embarrassing on my side.” Myoui Sachiko, the mother, eventually stopped and slowly spared her baby penguin’s joyous demise. Chaeyoung’s spine tensed when Mina’s mom finally looked at her. Her jaw kind of felt numb, but she still managed to muster an introduction of herself – definitely, a poor and stuttery one, “I aM Son Chaeyoung. N-NiCe to meET you, Mrs. Myoui.” Sachiko broke into a warm smile before wordlessly moving onto the baby cub and wrapping her into a welcoming hug. It made Chaeyoung to blush furiously as she courteously and awkwardly hugged back. “Thank you for taking care of our Mina,” the older Myoui said in a calm and soothing tone.

The tiger blinked her eyes when Korean words were articulated in the air and registered her floppy ears. “You speak Korean?” she asked softly as she watched Mrs. Myoui pulled away from their shared hug. “Yes, for our Mina,” the mother replied proudly, “Because I thought I might meet Mina’s friends from Korea in the future which is somehow our case right now.” Chaeyoung kind of feel anxious from the mother’s knowing pause, “Somehow?” she asked – tilting her head slightly to the right. Mina remained quiet in her place, watching how the two of the most important people in her life interacted. “I can tell that you’re more than a friend for our Minari,” Sachiko pointed out wisely before reaching for a right paw – making the cub blushed once again, “And please, in this house you have to address us as Papa and Mama Myoui.” Mina couldn’t contain her facial muscles and soon broke into a genuine smile, “It’s a household rule, sorry,” she said, directing her words to the shorter girl. “Come, dinner,” Mama Myoui suggested excitedly, “You two must be starving from the travel.” As if on cue to answer Mama Myoui’s speculation, the cub’s tummy audibly rumbled in agreement, causing her to blush redder and bow her head in shame. As Mina followed the other two to the kitchen, she said, “Mom, we can fix ourselves some dinner on our own,” yet she watched her mother pulled some ingredients from the fridge, “You and Dad were probably already asleep when I rang the doorbell.” It was pretty late after all, just an hour before midnight, and the penguin strongly felt like that she should let her mother to go back into her dreamland. “Mhm, you did say that you two will arrive in the early of a Saturday,” Mama Myoui agreed, but she didn’t comply to her daughter’s simple wish, “But I was only about to go to sleep, you didn’t wake me.” Chaeyoung smiled awkwardly, still adjusting inside the Myoui household, while Mina just hummed as she absorbed the given information.

“And your Dad is still in his office,” she quipped as she began to melt some butter in the pan before adding the vegetables and some sort of sliced meat. The cub’s mouth was starting to undeniably water as the intoxicating smell of their dinner slowly rose into the air. “Work?” the penguin asked, pulling Chaeyoung by hand towards the dinner table. “Yes, he’s still studying that ongoing peculiar case of their hospital,” her mother explained. Mina smiled when she saw the cub was staring into her quietly, “Dad’s a doctor, an orthopaedic surgeon.” Chaeyoung’s mouth slightly gaped in amazement. “And Mom’s a lawyer,” the elegant girl added. “Ah, that’s why they need sleep as much as they can,” the cub mused while rubbing her chin in understanding. Mama Myoui and the penguin chuckled to her on-point deduction. “It’s okay, Minari,” her mom reassured, putting down plates of food for them, “You’re our daughter and we haven’t seen you for so long. We can absolutely give up some few hours of sleep for the two of you.” Chaeyoung split her chopsticks and then pitched in to the conversation, “She’s just too perfect for everything, Mrs. Myoui.” A playful squint of motherly eyes was sent to her and she staggered back to correct her statement after a good self-realisation, “I meant, Mama Myoui.” The penguin leaned to the tiger cub and said, “You’re getting good at this,” she praised as her mother smiled to them brightly.

Mama Myoui pulled a seat for herself and sat beside Chaeyoung, watching the two ate rather quietly. When the tiger cub looked back at her, she shook her head sideways, “I’ve got a lot of questions for you but I think I can wait until tomorrow morning.” The art student slowly put the tip of her chopsticks into and nodded. “You two must still be tired for tonight,” she added as she smiled contentedly at them. The penguin smiled back affectionately, but right before they could establish again their silence while their eat, footsteps paced loudly and quickly towards their location. Bursting to the scene with heaving chest, the father – Myoui Akira – appeared in the doorway like a blood hunting animal. Lines adorning his face, he was still very much in his work attire. He was still wearing his crusty dress shirt and black slacks, but only for this time, it was currently paired with cute and furry indoor slippers. “I thought I heard our Minari’s voice,” he heaved out inelegantly. His eyes and the cub’s widened when they met each other. Chaeyoung’s mouth gaped before she loudly bolted up from her seat – both startling the other two beside her. Papa Myoui slowly edged closer to them and then pointed to the shorter girl’s face, “You—” “What is,” Mina slowly uttered in the air – brows furrowed with confusion, “Going on here?” she asked cautiously, suddenly feeling anxious to the dramatic turn of their almost midnight rendezvous. “Do you know each other?” Mama Myoui suspected.

Papa Myoui raised his right shoulder and gestured his hand in the air while eyeing his wife and daughter, honestly, mostly the penguin, “Remember my story about the grumpily waiting girl from our dinner together?” he rumbled – thoughts were a mess from excitement. He tapped his lips as he collected his words and then added, “In Korea from the tteokbokki place.” Mina was still confused to what her father was trying to convey to them. “Umbrella man!” Chaeyoung finally exclaimed, feeling a little left out from all of the Japanese words that she was hearing. “Yes!” Akira excitedly replied while nodding his head quickly before pointing at himself, “That was me!” The cub bit her lip as she tried to rummage into her brain for his name because she remembered it clearly how he had told it to her. She clapped her hands once as an imaginary bulb animatedly lighted up just above her head, “Akira!” she said out loud while grinning happily to him. The penguin audibly gasped before she confirmed, “So you two already knew each other?” “Yes, yes,” he laughed as he walked closer to the dinner table and then said, “I told you about her that night, Minari.” It didn’t ring a bell in Mina’s head, so she only shook her head lightly. He sighed dramatically before sitting opposite from them. Under the light of the dining room, he revealed, “Chaeyeon, remember?” Now, the penguin remembered and knew how her father was beyond wrong about a certain point in their topic.

“Young,” Chaeyoung enunciated properly, “I am Son Chaeyoung.” Papa Myoui’s mouth hung loose similarly to the penguin’s with her gasp earlier. “Ah, really?” he asked in surprisingly full Korean, still unbelieving that he had misheard everything since that unexpected night. The cub just nodded with a lopsided smile, “No worries, it was raining really hard that night.” Akira shook his head vehemently as he tried to shrug off his mistake and confirmed, “But you are that freshman art student, right?” Mina just nodded to him. Chaeyoung hummed, bobbing her head up and down, “So Mina had already talked about me?” “Yes, she did,” he smiled before he leaned forward to their side, “She did during that night,” he paused and then grinned cutely, “Now, I will not answer any of your next questions unless you call me Papa Myoui,” he stated with conviction. The art student nodded obediently before she sat back down to her seat with gleaming pinkish ears. “Cute,” Mama Myoui whispered as she noticed the reddening tips of the floppy pair. “So basically, I already met someone whom I wanted to meet that night, huh?” Papa Myoui thought out loudly. “I’ve no idea and never thought that you did, Dad,” Mina replied – words muffled from what she was eating. “Uhm, my Japanese is still not good so,” the cub called out everyone’s attention, “I can’t understand most of the words you guys are saying,” she honestly stated while continuously rubbing the back of her neck shyly. “Right, right,” Akira coughed apologetically, “I’m really glad that we could finally meet, Chaeyoung,” he enunciated the last part of her name and then smiled knowingly. Without pausing, Papa Myoui started to bombard the cub with questions, “So how do you two meet each other for the first time? Knowing Minari, probably not in some crowded party or club.” He felt a hand on top of his own before he looked to his wife and stopped from talking. “Dear, stop it,” Sachiko suggested, “Spare her for tonight, let her sleep comfortably, and then you can ask her questions by tomorrow, right, Chaeyoung?”

The baby cub hummed happily, totally on board to the mother’s idea, “Yeah, Mina and I will probably be needing some sleep soon.” “Okay, I understand,” Akira replied still proudly smiling at the newly arrived girls. His being was just over the moon and he absolutely couldn’t keep still from the excitement of knowing the Son Chaeyoung – the girl that her daughter likes and probably even loves. “Go ahead, eat up, eat up,” he repeated happily, urging the young girls to continue with satiating their hunger. They should continue and enjoy dinner, or it was the least expected for them, but Mina just couldn’t especially when her parents were staring and smiling at them rather intensely. “Mom, Dad,” she sighed, frowning at her parents’ embarrassing fascination towards the cub and herself. “Why?” Akira replied, eyeing her back with puppy eyes. “You can ask us questions tomorrow,” Mina pouted, “It’s really quite uncomfortable to eat with her while my parents are staring so much at us.”

“I don’t mind though,” Chaeyoung interrupted with mouth full of food. She grinned playfully at the troubled penguin and indicated, “Mama and Papa Myoui can stare as long as they want to because they probably just misses you so much.” Her statement earned her some agreeing nods and some amused smiles. “Our Minari is just shy around us,” Sachiko quipped, “Since she’s with someone special to her.” “Mom,” the penguin whined, blushing as she sensed the incoming teasing from her parents. “Since she finally had brought someone her heart chose, and still probably chooses,” Akira revealed at the two – smiling wildly – before successfully pulling a tint of red on the cub’s cheeks. So that’s how you choose me, Myoui Mina, Chaeyoung thought as she resorted to awkward coughs before she attempted to save themselves, “On second thought, I think it’s best if we hurry it up and finish eating.” She ended her statement with a nervous chuckle and then quickened her pace with her food. The penguin wordlessly followed the cub’s idea and ignored the invading comments from her parents who were insisting about how cute they were reacting to them.

As they ate, Mama and Papa Myoui threw some questions at the two of them – mainly about their courses and how were they doing in college. Chaeyoung bowed her head shyly, “I’ll be honest with the both you, Papa Myoui and Mama Myoui,” she stated almost as if a whisper, “I’m not a straight A kind of student.” She eyed the penguin’s parents with worries as she waited for their reaction. “Uh, thank you being honest?” Akira replied, sounding unsure because of sudden confusion. “Is something wrong with it, Chaeyoung?” Sachiko added – now equally worried with the little cub. Mina watched and listened to them silently, waiting how the conversation will turn. “I m-mean,” the art student stuttered, “S-She’s a med student and I only take arts,” she stopped and breathed heavily. “And I still managed to put most of my subjects in danger,” she admitted mindlessly and she was aware that she was starting to make less sense as she kept on going.

Chaeyoung groaned before slumping back to her chair, “Wouldn’t I be a downgrade for Mina?” she asked directly to the parents. “Of course not,” Papa Myoui was quick to answer. “Our Minari didn’t choose you because of your performance at the university, Chaeyoung,” Mama Myoui explained tenderly, “And we have no power to whoever our princess chooses.” Under the table, the cub felt a gentle hand laced into hers – clasping her own hand in a reassuring warmth. Akira noticed how Chaeyoung tensed on her seat. He knew that her daughter had made a move of her own to calm the anxious girl. “You sure are full of surprises, Son Chaeyoung,” he praised, smiling genuinely, “I’m happy the you and our Mina found each other.” The shorter girl’s ears once again heated and she shied away from his words again. She slowly and cautiously looked up again and said, “I am, too.”

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They continued the light conversation as they finished their food – exchanging simple questions to one another. After conversation ceased and tummies were filled, Chaeyoung soon bid Papa and Mama Myoui a good night before she carefully followed Mina from behind. The house was huge inside and out, and she never thought that she had to stay close to the penguin even after arriving at their destination.

They dropped their belongings inside the elegant girl’s room and decided to split up in available bathrooms to clean up themselves. Mina let Chaeyoung to use her own bathroom while she took initiative to use the smaller one just at the end of the previous hallyway. When she had entered her room again, the cub was sitting quietly on her bed – well-behaved and waiting for her. They met again, fresh, clean, and ready for a proper sleep. "Tired for today?" she asked with a smile as she walked closer to her. "Yeah," Chaeyoung replied, right hand gliding into the air to reach for a left one. Fingers locking and palms connecting, "Your parents are really cute and are on the same page," she added happily. Mina smiled, but second after, it dropped from her face. "I'm sorry if their excitement had gone overboard," she apologised, pulling their connected hands and kissing the cub's fingers, "I didn't expect them to be over the top, especially Dad." "It's fine, really," the art student replied, taking her turn to pull and kiss the penguin’s hand. She looked up into her eyes and then added, "I'm sorry if I kind of gloom the atmosphere at some point of the conversation." She began to scoot on the bed to invite the elegant girl to join her. Mina sat as she kept her eyes on her. "Sorry for being too worried over nothing," she continued before falling on her side and onto the soft mattress. She waited the penguin to follow her before she started tucking themselves under an equally soft comforter.

She could tell Mina's beddings were freshly changed because she could whiff the distinct smell of cabinets and fabric softener. "We should," the penguin whispered, taking the cub's mind off of unimportant thoughts. Chaeyoung hummed, indicating that her attention was completely focused and back to her. "We should what, Mina?" she asked, smiling, and then leaning to kiss the tip of her nose. "We should start learning how to stop apologising to each other, Chaeyoung," Mina replied monotonously while staring at the younger girl with fogged eyes – blank and unaffected by the affectionate peck on her nose. And just be honest with, she thought coldly, Everything. Her freezing thought caused her heart to constrict unpleasantly inside of her chest. The unusual yet very familiar beat was painful. Albeit just for a span of second, the sudden beat stung a lot, physically strumming every last one of her nerve in throbbing ache. Her hand reached to her heart mindlessly, scared and hurting that she was being reminded of the scarring past. That the painful feeling never ever left her, only it lay dormant to be woken up – just like for the night. A soft conspicuous call of her name anchored her up from her submerging thoughts. "Mina?" Chaeyoung whispered under her breath, "You okay?"

Mina shook her head to further clear it up, "Sorry, just really tired," she explained before finally returning and mirroring the kiss. She knew that the cub's curiosity wasn't yet satisfied, so before she could ask another question, she leaned forward to nuzzle on her chest, "Let's go to sleep because I've prepared something for you tomorrow," she suggested – pulling her arm over and holding the smaller girl securely to herself. The tiger cub also put her arm around her, "Okay, if that's what you want," she said in a low tone, placing the palm of her hand onto the penguin's back and pushing it closer to her, "But are you really okay, Mina?" The taller girl sighed before she moved her face away from her chest and looked into her eyes, Can I still keep on waiting, she thought sadly, Even if it’s already eating me alive? With a mustered unwavering smile, she faked, "I am, so please stop worrrying." Chaeyoung's reaction lagged for a minute as she just continued to stare back. She felt the penguin’s fingers warmed on her cheek before hearing her words again. "Let's just enjoy our time here," the elegant convinced and then chuckled, "Of course, after some good sleep."

The cub hummed – finally agreeing to her – before giving a pearly smile in return, "Okay, turn over," she requested, baffling the penguin. "What?" the elegant girl asked, absolutely confused by her words. "You said some good sleep," the art student began to explain her side, "We can only assure a good one if you turn over so I can spoon you to sleep." Mina closed her eyes as her lips broke into a smile. Without another word, she turned over and faced the other way. She revelled to the feeling how Chaeyoung’s arms soon found her sides and how her face nuzzled to the back of her own neck. "Good night," she heard her, feeling the taken whiff off from hair. "Good night," she replied as she interlaced their fingers together. As she slowly drifted into dreamland, she heard the softest whisper to the skin of her neck that made her to smile for one last time of that night. "You always smell nice, Mina," the cub said sleepily, equally falling into relaxing slumber.

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The elegant girl stirred from the bed as she heard the light chirps of birds outside and felt the absence of warmth beside her. Eyes opening and adjusting to the morning light, she turned herself over to where she remembered the cub was, but only finding it empty. A pout grew on her lips as she slowly lifted herself into an upright position. "Oh, you're awake," a voice said just from her lower right side. Chaeyoung was looking at her over a straight shoulder while kneeling on the floor, short mane a feasible substitute for a bird's nest. "Good morning," the cub smiled, spreading good morning vibe to the penguin. "Good morning," Mina replied, smiling softly, "Why are you on the floor again?" she asked before letting out a giggling sound. The younger girl looked away and then started to explain, "At first, I thought your house was haunted because I heard some scratching noises on your door." The penguin’s head tilted before her face morphed into a mixture of happy and surprised expression. "I guess not," she continued before she hugged a cream-coloured cutie to her chest, "It's just this floof scratching your door to get inside." "Grandpa Ray," Mina beamed, reaching out her palms into the air, "It's his habit, the scratching on door," she informed.

The cub, fully understanding the penguin’s gestured, moved and hopped back on the bed. She grinned happily as she watched her gave the quiet dog some good boy pats. "Why grandpa though?" she asked while taking one of his front paws. "He's a bit of a senior pup," Mina replied, leaning down to kiss her trusted dog, "I had him since I was an elementary student." Chaeyoung's lips formed a circle – amazed of the information. "He made my nose bled out of excitement," the elegant girl nonchalantly added. "What?" the cub blurted out both worried and shocked.

Mina laughed, running her hand over hers to soothe her down, "I always wanted a dog but my parents used to object," she explained after booping Ray's button nose, "So in return, I just kept saying I want one, I want one repeatedly until Mom gave up and finally approved." "You're really proud of yourself, I can tell," Chaeyoung grinned while happily caressing Ray's soft fur. "Out of excitement, my nose literally bled as I signed the contract for him," the penguin laughed and the cub's heart skipped from its beautiful sound. "That's so lame, Mina," the Korean girl laughed back as her body fell on the bed with Ray still in her embrace, "But also really cute," she added. As if part of her instincts, the Japanese beauty also fell on her side as she admired the tiger's affection towards her pet. "You know," Chaeyoung spoke, eyes drawn to the other pair, "We also have a family pet." The penguin hummed as she listened and smiled back. "You didn't get to meet Nereri because she was in my grandma's place," the cub continued before adding knowingly, "Maybe you can visit our home again and meet her.” Mina acted like she thought about it deeply, pursing her lips and tapping her chin, before she answered happily, “That sounds great.”

The penguin pulled the bundled comforter on her waist and then draped it over the cub’s. They spent the next minutes of their morning just talking about nothing in particular – giggling, smiling, flirting, and stealing kisses from each other. All the while with Ray in between their bodies. After Chaeyoung took another kiss from her, she pouted her lips and puffed her cheeks, she said, furrowing her eyebrows cutely, “Give me cuddles, too,” she demanded adorably. She pointed at Ray before adding, “You’ve been cuddling with him since I woke up.” The cub paid back the scripted play, “What the,” she teased, pulling Ray even closer to her chest, “I only want to cuddle with a fluffy dog for this morning.” Mina frowned playfully before deciding to move her hands and tried to pull the shorter frame on her own. The small cub wiggled skilfully until she had successfully evaded the penguin’s attempts, laughing and heaving. “Why? Why?” she questioned with arched brows while fighting off her smiles from appearing. She decided to sit upright to keep a safe distance between them, “You’re not a dog,” she challenged before sticking out her tongue teasingly for a second. Mina also pulled herself up, faced Chaeyoung completely, and then competitively stared in her eyes – showing a cute pout to weigh the odds into her favour. With just a raise of single brow from the cub, she slumped her hands on her lap and groaned loudly, “Will that get me cuddles?” she asked almost exasperatedly. The younger girl grinned like a devious cat before she pulled her right hand from Ray and then opened it in the air, palm first, “Paws,” she demanded.

With blushing cheeks and shying pursed lips, the penguin slowly lifted her hands before putting it on top of the open palm. At the moment Chaeyoung’s grin widened, and she wished the walls would just eat her alive and take her somewhere else. “Speak,” the cub said, her morning amusement up to no end. Mina’s being had gone ablaze and she was sure that she could fry an egg on top of her head just from the current level of her embarrassment. Now with scorching cheeks and quivering lips, she spoke, “Woof, woof.”

-------

Of course, after a good burst of laughter, Chaeyoung put down Ray and pulled her penguin as close as possible. She squeezed Mina to herself and power cuddled her. By power cuddle, she meant peppering the penguin with kisses or tracing the constellation of moles on her face with kisses as they exchanged their whispered conversation – all while drawing random patterns on bare abdomen with her fingers. The elegant girl moved up and placed each of her hands on the cub’s ribs. She leaned down and kissed her on the bridge of her nose, “We should go downstairs for breakfast.” Chaeyoung tipped her head upwards to connect her lips to Mina’s, “Yeah, we should,” she hummed mindlessly, softly nibbling on a lower lip. “But first, move your other thigh so you could straddle me properly,” she said while running both of her hands under her nightshirt. The Japanese girl quickly halted her movements before she chuckled, “Nice try.” The younger girl stared up to her eyes and then once again challenged, “With what? There’s nothing wrong with what I just said.” Mina leaned down and murmured a kiss on her nose, “Your statement isn’t really that convincing when both of your hands are still under my shirt.”

Chaeyoung nodded in what seemed like understanding and then squinted her eyes, “So what you’re telling me,” she pronounced slowly, “Is to remove your shirt so my hands wouldn’t be under it?” Mina scoffed, she could only scoff to the cub’s perfect play of stupidity, “Or you remove those wandering hands of yours,” she quipped, “Because there will be no straddling that will going to happen.” “Okay, fine,” the cub sighed loudly, eyes closed and hands oppositely travelling upwards under her shirt. Goosebumps rising on her skin, the penguin quickly reached for moving wrists to stop them effectively. “Oops,” Chaeyoung cooed with a satisfied grin, “Wrong direction.” The penguin rolled her eyes before smiling nonetheless as she felt her hands finally moved out. She returned to her side, so she wouldn’t be toppling over the other’s frame. Smile crept on her face as she watched the cub knelt again on the floor before taking the well-behaved dog back into her arms. “Mina’s such a goody two-shoes, right, Ray?” the art student asked the curious dog. The older girl let out a soft chuckle before she ran her hands through her hair and then to the younger one. “And you’re a kid,” she responded and then proceeding to fix her overly creased nightshirt.

Mischievously, Chaeyoung kept her conversation with the cream-coloured floof, “It’s not like she wasn’t , Ray,” she acted with full hand gestures and given belly rubs, “Her skin was reacting so hot that it’s like I put my hands in an old brick oven.” “Stop, you’re just furtherly proving my point of you, being such a kid, Chaeng,” Mina replied with a plastered victorious smile. With that argument, the cub quickly shut , admitting that the penguin might’ve won this round of teasing. “It was just simple morning touches, Mina,” the younger one groaned, “Not like it’ll go downhill to , okay.” The Japanese girl’s mouth gaped then closed again before she just blinked quietly at the other girl. “Really, with you?" she sighed, playfully remarking, "I highly doubt that."

Raising both of her hands in the air, "Fine, I understand where you're getting the idea