“I speak no Engrishi,”

 

A man by the counter scratches his head.

 

He looks so problematic in trying to assist a foreigner in their country.

 

“You check phone, Wifi,” He instructs struggling to deliver his own words.

 

He is sweating being eaten by the environment itself.

 

“Aish, why does everything need to be done through the internet? Can people just live the way ancient people do?”

 

The girl asking for help whines in Korean.

 

Though, she is smiling so that the latter will not understand her.

 

She is a perfection, to be honest. Tall, tanned, and really pretty.

 

She is actually Chou Tzuyu.

 

She is a rising star in Taiwan, and because she is a rising star many people wanted to bring her down.

 

They are spreading rumors that Tzuyu is an android.

 

She can’t blame them her robotic actions says it all. But she cannot NOT laugh about it too.

 

She sighs in frustration. Why did she even fly to Hokkaido?

 

Of all places? Why here?

 

“Excuse me,” A stranger interrupts.

 

Tzuyu looks at her.

 

Now, this is not human! She thought.

 

She is demure and sophisticated.

 

The woman looks at her too.

 

“I don’t mean to pry but I heard you whining about being find everything in the web –“

 

“Ah err, that one, I, it isn’t his fault at all I mean – “ Tzuyu panics.

 

She does not want to sound that she is insulting the guy who was trying to help her.

 

“Ah eh - no - no, It’s not that I thought you are insulting him,” The girl immediately defense her claim.

 

Tzuyu looks at her quizzically.

 

“The no internet thing, I think that is brilliant, like, you know, living the old age, not having your information put on the web or something like that,” She explains.

 

Tzuyu looks at her again intently.

 

She smiles.

 

And Tzuyu blushes.

 

“Mina, Myoui Mina,” She introduces herself.

 

Mina offers a hand to Tzuyu.

 

Tzuyu looks at the hand.

 

Mina is about to retract it but Tzuyu immediately grabs it for a shake.

 

“Tzuyu, Chou Tzuyu,”

 

Their hands are connected, and they are looking at each other’s smiling face.

 

“Chou? Are you from China or something? But your Korean is good,” Mina observes.

 

Tzuyu gulps. She does not want to know who she really is.

 

Not that she wants to hide it but she wants people to know her, like who she really is.

 

Not, as to how the media wants her to be.

 

“I –“

 

“Too private? Sorry,” Mina feels the awkwardness from Tzuyu.

 

Tzuyu smiles awkwardly too.

 

“How about you? Are you from Korea?”

 

“Nah, I’m from here, I am from the Kansai Area, just traveling around, you know trying new things, and meeting new people,” Mina answers.

 

“Make sense,” Tzuyu nods.

 

“Are you alone? I mean do you have anyone with you?”

 

“No, it’s just me my backpack and my camera,” Tzuyu answers showing off the items she mentioned.

 

“Well, since you are adamant in using a phone, or internet rather, would you mind if we tag along each other, I mean you can use me, I am Japanese, I can be your google translate,” Mina offers.

 

“Use you, really?” Tzuyu taunts with the choice of words of Mina.

 

“Yeah, you can do that, I mean at least, I’ll be used to something that I agreed upon,” Mina jokes but somehow, Tzuyu sees the loneliness in her eyes.

 

“Somehow, I can relate,” Tzuyu says honestly.

 

Mina looks at Tzuyu.

 

It is a stare that offers understanding and comfort.

 

She then smiled.

 

“Let’s go?”

 

“Well, my google translator, and could be my map, take me anywhere,” Tzuyu offers.

 

Then Mina laughs.

 

They walk around the streets of Hokkaido.

 

Conversing to things that makes them comfortable towards each other.

 

Tzuyu is never a talker but with Mina, she feels like she can tell her everything.

 

Everything.

 

“Yes, trust me, I did that, I walk around not realizing that my skirt was stuck on my tees waist, and that is indeed the most embarrassing moment, I had,” Tzuyu shares to Mina.

 

Mina laughs.

 

“You might have been cold,” Mina jokes.

 

Tzuyu laughs.

 

“What about you? What is your most embarrassing moment?” Tzuyu asks.

 

Mina thinks.

 

“Well, it will not top how funny yours is but, this one seems pretty embarrassing,” There is another sad expression that appears in Mina’s eyes.

 

“Tell me about it. I won’t judge,” Tzuyu encourages.

 

“It happened, when I was six, you know, children are children, they try everything just to be on top, I mean to be recognized, so I announced to my classmates that my dad will bring a lot of toys and food in the class because it was my birthday, I told them to bring a lot of gifts and also, be in their best dress,”

 

Mina stops to look away from Tzuyu.

 

Tzuyu follows her with her eyes.

 

“That sounds like a normal one,”

 

Mina chuckles before she continues.

 

“Well, it does, not until my father forgot that it was my birthday because of some meeting, and so I was labeled as a tattle tale when I was young until I reached high school or something, bullying, kids’ stuff,”

 

Mina explains.

 

Tzuyu looks at her with sympathy.

 

“Cruelty of life, people judge you on what they think is right, what they think it should have been though, they have not really heard the whole story, or they have not even considered your feelings,” Tzuyu comforts Mina.

 

Mina looks at her with a hint of a smile.

 

Tzuyu isn’t too bad after all.

 

She looks at Mina meaningfully as well.

Their eyes locked internalizing the connection they cannot understand.

 

As if they want to pull each other.

 

There is a certain attraction that they feel, yet it is too early to test.

 

So, Mina is the one who got so embarrassed with the tension. She punches Tzuyu lightly.

 

Tzuyu acts hurt.

 

Then Mina chuckles.

 

“Don’t overreact,” Mina taunts.

 

“I am not, it hurts, really it does,” Tzuyu rubs her arm.

 

Mina rolls her eyes.

 

“Where are you taking me?” Tzuyu asks.

 

“Somewhere nice,” Mina says.

 

They continue to talk around the walkway of Odori Park.

 

Mina explains everything to her about the actual street, then they reached the end.

 

“This is where I am taking you,” Mina points at the TV tower in front of them.

 

“It’s a tower where you can see everything, here in Sapporo,” She adds.

 

Tzuyu focuses on Mina and a certain smile appear on her face.

 

Mina looks happy being here.

 

She looks a lot different than when she was talking about her family.

 

She smiles at Tzuyu.

 

“Kaja,” She pulls Tzuyu’s by holding her wrist.

 

They enter the TV tower, and Mina has the most amazing smile she can ever plaster.

 

“Do you think that the people who died watched us like this too?” Mina asks looking at the down at the town.

 

“I guess, there has always been a belief like that right?” Tzuyu answers. “Someone is watching over you,”

 

“Yes, someone is always watching over you, angels or your loved ones who passed away,” Mina speaks again with the same sadness in her eyes.

 

 Tzuyu clenches her jaw.

 

She wants to know.

 

“Did someone you love recently passed away?” She asks carefully.

 

Mina looks at her for a moment.

 

She takes a deep breath.

 

“You could say that,” She answers.

 

Tzuyu did not know how to respond to that.

 

There is a long moment of silence before Mina broke it.

 

“How long do you plan to stay here?” Mina asks looking at Tzuyu.

 

“Where? In Sapporo or beside you,” Tzuyu jokes.

 

Mina laughs so loud.

 

It sounded like music in Tzuyu’s ear.

 

“In Hokkaido, of course!” Mina says playfully blocking Tzuyu’s remark.

 

“I don’t know, forever?” Tzuyu says in a breath.

 

“Oh, me too,” Mina says anticipating.

 

There is that again, the mystery that Tzuyu wants to unfold.

 

Her eyes display sadness.

 

Displays longing.

 

It wants peace.

 

A peace that Tzuyu wants to provide.

 

“Do you have a hotel already?” Mina asks.

 

“No, I was just thinking of getting one, I mean I have no idea how to get, but I supposed you will help me,”

 

“Uh huh at your service,” Mina says.

 

 

 

They ended up in a hotel lobby that looks so cozy.

 

“Sorry but we only have one room, because of the beer garden festival by the Odori Park, we are fully booked,” The receptionist bows apologetically.

 

Mina tells Tzuyu about it.

 

“What do you think?” She asks.

 

“I can share, I mean we can share,” Tzuyu smiles.

 

“Okay, we’ll take it,” Mina talks to the receptionist in Japanese.

 

They came up to the room

 

Tzuyu and Mina blush.

 

It is a honeymoon suite.

 

One bed with scented candles lit up and the rose petals scattered on the bed was just too much.

 

“Do you want to go to the beer festival? Taste Sapporo beer?” Mina invites.

 

“I’m only 18 you know,” Tzuyu says.

 

“EH, you are so young,” Mina reacts.

 

“Why are you old? You look like you’re 20 or 19,” Tzuyu defends Mina.

 

“20, I am 20 years old,”

 

Mina says.

 

“See you are young too,” Tzuyu says.

 

“It does not matter, we’ll go to that beer fest!” Mina encourages.

 

And they ended up going.

 

Their night become more and more interesting.

 

They talk about everything that is under the sun.

 

The things they like.

 

The things they dislike.

 

Stories they never have told anyone.

 

They laugh.

 

They laugh louder.

 

They got drunk without any inhabitations.

 

They are strangers to each other but that night was the best night they have.

 

They had the most meaningful conversations in their lifetime.

 

Tzuyu told Mina her thoughts.

 

She did not put any reservations or anything.

 

She feels that this is the best day of her life because she did not need to think about her image.

 

She did not need to think if there will be cameras around her taking a photo, judging all of her.

 

She did not care about her appearance.

 

She did not care about the words that come out of .

 

She cursed.

 

She said .

 

She did everything that she cannot do in front of the camera.

 

Even in front of anyone.

 

She freed herself.

 

She opened her cage.

 

Mina did the same thing.

 

They are so comfortable with each other that it seems like they’ve known each other all their life.

 

Tzuyu experienced Hokkaido in a very nice way.

 

Thanks to Mina.

 

“This whole trip will not be, I repeat, will not be great if it wasn’t for you,” Tzuyu declares in her drunken manner.

 

“You are welcome!” Mina responds.

 

“I don’t know why, but, why do you look so sad? Even though you smile?” Tzuyu asks looking at Mina.

 

They are inside their hotel room.

 

“I don’t!” Mina defends.

 

“Oh, really? When you told the story about your dad, then when we reached the TV tower, those things! Why? Who is he? The one that keeps you going? Even though you are nearly breaking,” Tzuyu blurts out her opinion.

 

There is a long silence from Mina.

 

There is a certain loneliness in her eyes.

 

“It is a she,”

 

Tzuyu focuses on Mina.

 

A certain thud in her heart appeared when she heard Mina says she.

 

As if a flicker of hope appears.

 

Now, Tzuyu understands herself even better.

 

The reason why she does not like anyone of her partners because of ~

 

Tzuyu likes girls.

 

Tzuyu likes a girl.

 

Tzuyu likes this girl.

 

This girl named Mina.

 

“A she?”

 

Mina nods.

 

“I grew up with her, she is the most energetic person I have ever met, the loudest and clumsiest per se, she had always protected me from everything, she always had the right words to say to me, she was my hero,”

 

Mina’s eyes become teary.

 

“Was?”

 

“She died, a year ago, she had something in her brain or something like that, but before she died, she told me to bring her here, to live my life, to meet people and help people, and be their hero, that is why I want to keep going to move forward, because of her,”

 

Mina answers with all the emotions she had been bottling up.

 

She cries.

 

Tzuyu has tears in her eyes.

 

She moves closer to Mina.

 

And.

 

She wraps her around her arms.

 

Letting the older one shed tears on her chest.

 

Hugging her securely.

 

“You did well, Mina, you don’t know how much of a hero you have become to me, you saved me, you did well,” Tzuyu encourages.

 

And with that Mina cries louder.

 

Letting her arms rest around Tzuyu’s waist.

 

Locking her inside her arms too.

 

They are chest to chest.

 

And this proximity could only lead to their own feelings.

 

They parted.

 

They shared the most romantic stare they could give to each other.

 

Or to anyone.

 

And there.

 

They lean forward to each other.

 

Crashing their lips.

 

Savoring each other.

 

Tongues involve.

 

And with they ended up on the bed.

 

That was Tzuyu’s first.

 

And Mina was the expert who guides her to do the right thing.

 

 

 

The next morning.

 

Tzuyu wakes up with her bare body exposed.

 

Her head hurts.

 

But then she realizes something.

 

It is just her inside the room.

 

And there was just a note.

 

“Thank you for everything, if life allows it, maybe we can meet each other, and maybe we are no longer lost in Hokkaido that time, but we found each other, Mina,”

 

Tzuyu’s heart breaks.

 

But it is the type of heartbreak that wants more.

 

That keeps her going.

 

The same type of heartbreak that Mina has.

 

A heartbreak of hope.

 

Ironic but true.

 

She was lost in Hokkaido but she had found the best thing there.

 

She found herself.

 

And Mina.

 

Her hero.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Year Later

 

Tzuyu is walking in between the paparazzi.

 

Camera shutters and flashes aren’t something new to her anymore.

 

If anything she is used to it,  She is invited to Paris Fashion Week.

 

She has become the top celebrity in Taiwan in the span of a year.

 

She wanted to become someone’s hero and the way she could think of in becoming like that is to be able to influence her generation.

 

So, she becomes the inspiration she wanted to be.

 

The inspiration for how Mina was to her.

 

She still remembers her.

 

Tzuyu comes inside the event hall.

 

She knows no one but she smiles at them.

 

Until.

 

“Excuse me,” A stranger interrupts.

 

Tzuyu looks at her, she plastered the biggest smile she can do.

 

Now, she is not human!

 

She is demure and sophisticated.

 

The woman looks at her too.

 

“I don’t mean to pry but you seemed alone, can I accompany you?“

 

Tzuyu stuck up.

 

“Mina, Myoui Mina,”

 

She offers her hand.

 

“I finally found you,”

 

 

 

 

A/N

 

Just a short one-shot squeezing everything in.

 

Enjoy ^^