Mina wasn't exactly sure when things began to change, but she has been aware that her life is now different than before. Although she would never admit it aloud, she knew it was because of the fact she was now friends with Hirai Momo. 

It became a silent agreement between the two of them that they would rarely acknowledge each other when they were at school. Momo would give her the subtlest of waves while Mina would return the gesture with a simple nod. Of course, she would notice the few times Momo would smile brightly at her, amusement and excitement glittering her eyes as if she's enjoying this secret game they were playing that no one knew about. She had a feeling Sana knew there was something going on between them (the school president was a lot more perceptive than she let on) but if she did, she never said anything to Mina. It seemed simpler and less controversial to stay in their respective group of friends to avoid attention and gossip, so during the week, Mina would be spending time with Sana and Jihyo if she wasn't studying or with her family.

However it was different on weekends. Mina would always hangout with Momo after their respective dance lessons at the dance studio. Even on Sundays, when they had no lessons, they would meet up, even if it was only for a couple of hours. Sometimes they would spend their time at a coffee shop. Other times they were at the park that was located near their homes. It was another unspoken agreement that they avoided places where it was likely they would run into their classmates. Although even if they did, it wasn't too much of a worry since Mina believed none of their peers at school would recognize Momo considering the demeanor she presented outside of school was a complete 180 from how she was seen in class. The nerdy Momo was a goofy, quiet, and friendly girl with terrible posture and thick-framed glasses. The real Momo was still friendly and goofy but had a straight posture that exuded confidence and power, even when she wasn't dancing, and had perfect vision. Even so, she was still the complete opposite from Mina yet somehow they got along perfectly once Momo was being honest about her true self. In truth, Mina was having a lot of fun whenever she was with Momo.

But why?

"Earth to Mina-chan," Momo called while waving a hand in front of Mina's face, snapping the ballerina from her thoughts. "Did you hear a word I said?"

Mina blinked rapidly and shook her head while a sheepish smile spread across her face. "Ah. Sorry. Guess I spaced out. What was your question?"

"I asked what you'd like to do today. Should we go to that one café with all the card games? It's been awhile."

"It's because it's far in comparison to our other places we go to. What about the mall?"

"We really shouldn't. I don't want to be tempted to by clothes I don't need. I'm not rich like you because I don't get such a big allowance," Momo commented while laughing, gently poking at Mina's shoulder to which she responded by playfully slapping Momo's hand away.

"For the nth time, I'm not rich," Mina laughed as well. "But fair enough. I shouldn't spend money either."

Momo released an overexaggerated sigh and clasped both hands behind her head as they both walked to the station. "Should we go to our usual coffee shop?"

Mina pursed her lips, visibly hesitating, but said it anyway. It wasn't such a strange suggestion between friends after all. "Would you like to come over to my house, Momo-kun?"

Momo stopped in her tracks and stared at Mina with wide eyes with an expression that Mina couldn't decipher.

"A-ah… It's okay if you don't want to. It was just an option, you know…" Mina mumbled quietly, more to herself.

"No, it's fine! I would love to!" Momo insisted. "I was just shocked because you've never invited me over before."

"I'm surprised I haven't invited you over sooner," Mina explained calmly while entering their train. She spotted two empty seats and quickly ran over to take the window seat, looking over to Momo as she sat beside her. She tried to ignore how her heart began to thud so hard inside her ribcage when their shoulders touched and how they were connected at the hip. So she kept a straight face when Momo seemed to be unaware of these details and mentally scolded herself because it was normal.

"I'm excited! I've actually never been to anyone's house since middle school," Momo said happily while turning her head to Mina. Was Momo really that close to her or was she imagining things?

"Really? Not even to Nayeon's or Dahyun's home?" Mina asked curiously, a surprised lilt in her voice.

Momo shook her head. "No, not yet anyway. They live on the opposite side of town from where we live so traveling to either of their houses would be a long ride. We've been planning to spend some time outside of school but someone is always busy and we prefer if all three of us were available. So, you get to be the lucky one that is the first to invite me over!"

"I see. I guess I am pretty lucky then," Mina muttered more to herself while a ghost of a smile curved on her pink lips.

When they arrived at Mina's house, her mother was surprised to see a new face. Mina inwardly groaned in embarrassment when her mother burst out speaking Japanese, with her excitement only intensifying when Momo revealed her Kansai accent. She was thankful Momo dealt with her mother and was polite to answer her numerous questions. Momo's attention was soon diverted when Ray padded into the room to greet Mina, her eyes widening and literally almost sparkling as she bent down to hug Ray. Mina was amused yet also concerned to learn of Momo's love for dogs considering she was mildly allergic.

After her mother excused herself to make them some food (and pushing Ray into the backyard for Momo's sake although to Momo's dismay), Mina escorted Momo upstairs to her room and inwardly worried what the latter would think. Despite her appearance and her love for ballet, Mina had a strong love for video games and superhero films. Although she couldn't play her console systems as much as before due to studying for her college entrance exams, Mina had a shelf solely dedicated to displaying the console and handheld systems she owned, mostly from Nintendo. On her walls hung a few posters, consisting of Sailor Moon from the manga and the live action Avengers movie from Marvel Studios. It seemed that Momo realized the jarring difference from her appearance in comparison to her hobbies.

"Wow…" was all Momo could say for a good couple of minutes as she walked around, seemingly to survey every inch of her room.

"Surprised?" Mina asked with a smile.

"Yeah… I would have never guessed Myoui Mina, the academy's vice president and the studio's black swan, would be a gamer and a lover of action movies." Momo's smile widened to show her pearly whites. "It feels like you don't show this part of yourself to just anyone so now I feel special."

Mina's smile faltered slightly and she stepped over to her shelf of consoles, running a hand over her dusty Nintendo 64. "Yeah. It's just like you said back in the infirmary. I've always had this elegant, graceful exterior even when I was little. I swear it wasn't intentional but it's how people who first looked at me would always perceive me as." Mina picked up the grey and awkward-looking controller of the 64 and held it in her hands. "I would invite classmates over to my house during primary school and ask them to play Mario Kart with me, because my older brother made me love the game so much, and wanted to spread that love to my friends… But the girls only wanted to play with dolls and play dress up and had no interest in games. They thought it was weird that a girl like me played video games like a boy did." Mina chuckled to herself while recalling the memory and placed the controller back on the shelf. "Children have a certain way of looking at the world so in retrospect, I can understand where they were coming from.… but it did hurt back then for being judged for things I genuinely loved and enjoyed."

Momo was silent while she spoke although Mina could feel Momo's eyes on her the entire time. After a moment of silence hung between them, Momo spoke up. "Mina-chan. Thank you for sharing and trusting me with this side of you. When you're older, judgement from your peers can hurt you more than when you're a kid… so thank you."

Mina shook her head but wore a gentle expression across her features. "In all honesty, I don't hide this side of me anymore. Rather, I only mention my hobbies to those who ask, which is why until now, Sana and Jihyo were the only ones who actually wanted to get to know me at the academy. Trusting you was easier than I expected, but perhaps it's because you've already shown me your own secret and your reasoning behind it."

Momo walked over to Mina and picked up the controller she had just put down and smiled. "It's great that neither of us have nothing to hide now. Shall we celebrate with some old school Mario Kart?

"Are you sure? You know, I'm quite the gamer. I take my games very seriously," Mina giggled while she grabbed the console.

"You don't seem intimidating to me."

"If you want to know one of my gaming achievements, I've clocked in over 1500 hours in MapleStory."

"ONE THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED HOURS?!" Momo exclaimed with utter shock she almost dropped the controller. "HOW?!"

"Let's just say that my summers when I was younger were uneventful and I preferred not to get sunburned by going outside," Mina simply explained with a smile.