Chapter VII -  Random Encounter

random encounter: A term usually found in RPGs. While adventuring, the player may experience various trials, traps, and creatures randomly determined by a percentile or a dice roll. 

How long has it been? How long has it been since I first started to crush on her? The short haired cutie who served coffee at the internet cafe?

Two months? Maybe three?

Hmm. Has it only been that long? I guess so. But, it feels like it’s been longer than that.

It feels like it’s been an eternity.

An eternity crushing on her.

An eternity… wanting to do this exact thing…

Hold her hand.

Yeah.

We were holding hands.

Like children spiralling out of control on the playground. Like the only thing we heard was the music and our insanity. Like painting the town only in red and calling it art.

In other words, we were having fun.

“What is this one called?” I screamed over the music.

“Experiment #13.” The response was automatic.

“Haha! Why don’t you actually give your songs a title?”

“No idea. They aren’t really finished so I guess it just doesn’t feel right to do so.”

I could feel nothing else but her during these moments. The bass shook the room, our bodies grooving to the rhythm of her music. There was no singular genre. Sure, there was hip-hop and pop, but also R&B and house intermixed in. There was no rhyme or reason to what she created. It was like she was purely driven by impulse and experimentation. An idea pops into her head and, poof, out comes music.

Chaeyoung was incredible.

“Oh! This one has a name!” As I was scrolling through the files, I noticed an MP3 file that didn’t have the usual “Experiment #” naming convention like the others did.  “What’s this?”

“What…?” Chaeyoung tip-toed, taking a look over my shoulder. “WAIT! NO! THAT’S-!”

She was drowned out by the loud speakers.

A mellow rhythm. A bit R&B but with some hip-hop flair. And then the drums and snares kicked in, my body automatically grooving to the music. It wasn’t as instrumental as her other offerings, usually the pianos would be the forefront. Instead, they were just highlights to the theme.

And then I found out why.

『I’m climbing you right now, my mood goes up and down』

『I’m not normal right now, I’m running out of breath』

『I want my friends to tease me』

『I wanna pretend to be shy and run into your arms』

『Why are you running into me with both your headlights on?』

『You’re so dazzling, my knees get weak』

『Without you, it’s so cold even in the summer』

『Like always, I’m dreaming about you tonight with my eyes open』

The lyrics were quick but charming, soft but energetic.

A female voice.

A female voice with attitude.

A female voice that was familiar but…

Wait… Was that…?

“Wha-!?”

A strong shove and I was on the floor.

“WAH!”

The music stopped.

Our voices echoed and then silence.

A small weight fell on top of me.

Um.

Um...

Help?

Help me please?

I’m in a very dangerous situation!

This isn't real, right?

This isn’t seriously happening?

Chaeyoung fell on top of me, her face dangerously close to mine. I was trying to look at anything else other than that charming face.

But that was proving to be quite difficult.

Her pouty lips.

That beauty mark.

Hair messed up in such a cute way.

“I… Uh…” “Um…”

We spoke at the same time.

Wh- Where do I put my hands!?

Well, this is awkward.

Uh, quick! What should I do?

Mina options:

1. Try to lift her off of me.
2. Embrace her.
3. Laugh it off.
4. The usual.

“Hi…?” I said, thinking it would break the tension.

It didn’t.

I chose option 4: Be an idiot.

“I- I- I-” Her voiced stuttered while she tried to move off of me.

“AH!”

I was losing my mind, suddenly becoming acutely aware of where one of her hands were.

“St- St- Stop moving!” I felt my face turning red, her accidental fingers destroying me. My red sports bra had shifted slightly, exposing more than I normally would.

“SORRY!” she apologized. “I DIDN’T MEAN TO!”

“Aaahh~! Your leg! Stop it!”

y contact point #1: Her hand on my chest.

y contact point #2: Her knee between my thighs.

Possible y contact point #3: Her lips so close to mine.

Yup.

This is an anime.

This is a ing anime.

What sin did I commit in my previous live to be ed into this romcom insanity?

Will there be overly animated and unwarranted shots? What’s next? Am I going to get special powers and into a Sailor Scout? Or maybe I’ll learn how to drive an old Toyota and deliver tofu at midnight? Ah, no wait! This is a shoujo manga. That means someone is going to barge in here and discover us in this ludicrously compromising position.

“Chae- Uuuungh~!” I tried to hold it in, but everything was coming out.

“Un- Unnie! Hang on! I’m-”

God.

Okay.

I’m really losing my mind.

“HEY HEY! MINARI! You in here? Saw the lights on and we’re gonna close... up… the… Uh…”

“...” I said.

“...” Chaeyoung said.

That’s it.

My life is over.

Kill me. Kill me now.

A large eyed girl with puffy cheeks stood by, leaning against the door frame while holding a ring of keys.

It was impossible to read her current expression or how she was taking this all in.

I mean, she was smiling. But her eyes gave off such a blank stare that I wasn’t even sure she was looking at us or past us.

“Um… Jihyo…” I started while trying to figure out a way to hold Chaeyoung from accidentally moving more. “This- This isn’t what you think…”

“Oh! You know Jihyo unnie?” questioned Chaeyoung.

“Ye- Yeah. She sometimes uses ones of the rooms nearby for singing… How do you know her?”

“She… She lead the tour I took.”

“Oh… That makes sense...”

I would definitely call Jihyo one of the main representatives of the school’s liberal arts section. It made sense she would be one of the ones who would welcome new students into the school.

Chaeyoung was still on top of me, by the way.

The older girl then looked around the dance studio, seemingly deep in thought. She eyed the laptop for a brief moment.

“Let me guess…” Jihyo started, her hand to her chin. “While Chaeyoungie was showing off some of her music, one of her ‘private songs’ started to play and she tried to get you to stop listening. In her panic state, she fell on top of you and now you two are in this ludicrously compromising position. That sound about right?”

Apparently, Jihyo was also God.

“Ye- Yeah actually! How did you know?” I asked.

“Yes! Guessed it right!” She gave me a thumbs up and then grabbed Chaeyoung and helped her up. “Whoa! Hey! You’d probably want to fix your top there, Minari. Not leaving much to the imagination.”

“Eh?” I looked down at myself and- “Gah! Thanks!”

“No problem! Anyway, Chaeyoungie here asked to borrow one of the recording booths a while back. She was so shy about it that I just had to listen in! I even offered to help out with using the equipment and stuff but she nearly threw a chair at me rather than utilize my knowledge. I, of course, convinced her otherwise.”

Jihyo patted the top of Chaeyoung’s head.

“What did you think, hmm?” Jihyo asked, looking at me. “How did Chaeyoung sound?”

“Eh? OH! Ye-yeah! She was great!” I had to scramble my mind back a bit, hiding my blood boiling from the affection she showed the shorter girl. “I was just surprised. I didn’t know you rapped.”

Chaeyoung looked to me, only realizing then how silent she had become.

“You- You really think so?” A small smile. A small smile that held my attention in its shyness. “Th- Thanks, Mina unnie… That means a lot.”

“S-sure…”

A silence.

A shy silence.

I was blushing again, my cheeks reacting to her words.

“Well then!” Jihyo clapped her hands. “The Black Swan and the Baby Tiger… My, my! This will definitely be an interesting school year...”

“‘Baby Tiger?’” the short girl looked towards Jihyo, becoming very confused.

“We give everyone nicknames here,” I answered. “It’s kinda tradition.”

“Indeed! But now is not the time to talk about that!” Jihyo smiled. “I really am closing the building now. So if you don’t mind… take your date somewhere else?”

“EH!?” “Un-nie!” “Wait!” “It’s…”

“BWAHAHAHAHA~!”

Our words were lost behind Jihyo’s manic laughter.

“She gets like this sometimes,” I whispered to Chaeyoung, sighing all the while. “Mind waiting with Jihyo while I go change?”

“S-Sure… Take your time.”

I exhaled heavily once I entered the locker room.

Sigh…

I couldn’t believe it.

Ha.

Hahaha.

Wow. Today has been insane.

Dinner. Walking. Dancing.

Falling….

I looked at myself in the mirror and pinched my cheeks.

Yup. This was real. This was really happening.

Hahaha~!

Oh my God! What would’ve happened if Jihyo hadn’t interrupt us?

What would’ve…?

What would’ve…

Heh.

Actually. wrong question.

I should be asking… What wouldn’t I do?

As the thoughts entered my head, I saw her. A ghost of that sinful face reflected back at me through the mirror, glaring with hungry eyes and familiar lips.

“...Really?”

Go away. Just go away. I can’t be bothered.

I closed the door to my locker and left.

Cold air. A deep breath and the chill filled my lungs, refreshing my senses and giving me new life. It was late. Really late. I guess Chaeyoung and I had lost track of time while we were enjoying ourselves. Time sure flies and all that.

“I’m here!” I shouted as Jihyo and Chaeyoung came into view. “Sorry I took so long.”

“No worries!” Chaeyoung smiled.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Jihyo shrugged and checked the time on her cell phone. “I still have to wait for Tzuyu anyway so you two go on ahead.”  

“See you later, unnie,” Chaeyoung and I waved in unison and started to walk off.

We made it about five steps before I stopped and turned back around.

“Wait! Jihyo… Why are you waiting for Tzuyu?” I asked.

“Huh?” Jihyo looked up from her phone, face filled with confusion before she seemingly satisfied with a thought inside her head. “Oh… Whoops.”

“Whoops?”

“Jihyo unnie!” yelled a happy voice from inside the building. “I didn’t mean to take so long. I couldn’t find- Oh!?”

There she stood. My tall Taiwanese roommate. Now changed into a more fashionable dress and adjusting her earrings as she approached. I took a glance at Jihyo, realizing then how well she was dressed.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

“You didn’t tell Minari we were going on a date tonight, did you?” Jihyo looked up to the taller girl.

“I didn’t have time to,” Tzuyu spoke with her matter-of-fact tone. “She was too depressed...”

A shiver ran up my spine, causing my to shrink at the sudden memory of this morning.

“Ah well, at least she knows.” Grabbing Tzuyu’s hand, Jihyo started to head out towards the campus exit while spinning a pair of car keys around her fingers. “Catch you kids later! Our night is just starting.”

Tzuyu just bowed her head before following along.

“You remember my roommate, right?” I turned to Chaeyoung, somehow feeling betrayed. “I think you met her earlier.”

“Yeah! Her I remember. She’s really tall.”

“Yup…”

“What were you depressed about anyway?”

Uh…

“O-Oh!” I stuttered. “We paired up with a really terrible healer today. We couldn’t finish our four-man raid today.”

“Wh-What?”

“I- Uh. Video game thing. It’s nothing,” I lied.

Oh no… Does she not play video games!?

“Ah! I have no idea what you’re talking about but sounds interesting!”

“I-It is! If you’re free sometime, maybe we could play something?”

“Sure sure! Maybe tomorrow? I have an early shift so we could hang out a little more tomorrow?”

“Y- Yeah!” I could barely contain my excitement. “I’ll- I’ll be at- uh- the usual place?”

“Okay!”

“Okay!”

Silence.

I started playing with my fingers.

Chaeyoung shifted her weight.

“Hey, so are you-!?” “I’ll see you-!?”

Our words jumbled together.

We laughed.

“You can go first,” I suggested.

“No, that’s fine. You go ahead.”

“I insist.”

“Ah, um. Okay. So- huh?”

Chaeyoung’s attention diverted past me.

Spinning around, I found Tzuyu and Jihyo still there. Watching.

“Unnie, I think they see us…”

“If we stay perfectly still-”

“Don’t you have a date to go on?” It felt like smoke was coming out of my nostrils as I spoke.

“We’re going, we’re going!” Jihyo yelled behind her, this time making sure she and Tzuyu were really gone.

“Today has been eventful,” Chaeyoung admitted.

“It has…” I was getting a headache.

“Anyway, I gotta head to the dorms so… Tomorrow?”

“Ye- Yeah! Tomorrow.”

“Cool, cool. See you then, Mina unnie!”

She hugged me. She hugged me good-bye.

The moment lost sense of presence as the smell of ramen, coffee, and modern perfume filled me. One inhale and I was hooked.

“And here!” Arms outstretched, she handed me my jacket. “You might be cold on the way back.”

“OH! Right right!”

I held the jacket like a baby.

And with that, I watched her head off and enter the on campus dorm building, giving me another small wave before she disappeared within.

As I headed back to my place, I wore the jacket on my shoulders. Like in the movies when a varsity all-star gave their letterman to their cheerleader girlfriend. I know. This was getting silly. But it felt like Chaeyoung was hugging me still. Her scent lingered on the cuff and lapel. I risked an inhale, trying to commit it to memory.

Despite how crazy today has been, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

“Wah! Mina-chan acts so cute when she’s in love~!”

“I wonder how Chaeyoungie is doing now.”

“D- Did she just smell her jacket?”

“DETAILS, MINA-BON~! DETAILS~!”

Slowly.

Very. Slowly.

Very. Very. Slowly.

I rotated my head.

There they stood, hiding behind the nearby garden and smiling.

Sana looked starry eye while her girlfriend, Dahyun, was next to her behind a tree. SinB was leaning on the opposite side of it, not really hiding so much as she continued typing on her phone and taking small glances at me. To the side, inside a bush, was Jisoo’s head, poking out and excitedly yelling at me.

“DETAILS~!”

“...”

Oh me.

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! I'M BACK!

I really want to apologize for taking so long. I didnt mean to take a break from writing this. I was just getting occupied by writing another fic that had consumed me. It was such a different tone from all my other works that I had to take a step away and fully concentrate on it. Trust me, you do not want any of the crazy tragic angst that came from that fic. 

If you are interested, stop on by! Link: Half/Half (JeTi/JeNy Fic)

I hope this long chapter makes up for it! I kinda went crazy with this one haha. I just needed something fun and happy to write. And thus this chapter was born. So much hilarity to come! 

Please, remember that you are cool and to comment!

And, as always, have good memories and nightmares.