*Click* *click*

The inseparable trio are at it again, taking groufies every chance they get, regardless if they're in their dormitory or in the busiest shopping district in Seoul.

It's the girls' night out, and they've walked quite a bit tonight, carrying their shopping bags. Now they're just looking for something cool or sweet to quench their thirst—thanks to the continually warming summer nights.

“Ah! How about cotton candy? I'm sort of looking for a thing that melts right in my mouth!” Sana randomly suggests to her girlfriends.

“Eehh? But we're already sticky sweaty. I don't need something that would remind me of this disgusting sensation,” Momo protests—as she does every once in a while to Sana's whims.

But Mina's eyes were set elsewhere. “That's cute,” she says, almost whispering to herself.

“What is?” Momo and Sana ask Mina in chorus. Of course they still hear everything Mina says, though they sometimes wish she'd speak a bit louder. Her opinions often highly matter among the three of them.

“Um, don't you think that ice cream roll cart stands out?” Mina points at the bright and colorful food shop stand which, indeed, kind of sets itself apart from the other stores with its artisanal design. “I bet they sell good ice cream rolls.”

They went to that direction without hesitation, their brainwaves are just so synchronized almost all the time. 

“Hello~ What would you like to have, ma'ams?” a warm greeting from the person standing right in front of them. The lady with her ginger hair in ponytail, wearing jumper jeans over a plain white shirt, exuded a friendly aura that matches, if not exceeds, the sales talkish ajummas in the markets.

Mina scans the lady's appearance in a quick glance then switches her gaze to the menu on the top display of the cart. From cookies & cream to matcha flavors, they seem to have the trendy ones in their inventory. “Uhh, what do you think should we get? Momo? Sana?”

“Strawberry~!” Sana excitedly points at the menu, at the image of strawberry-flavored ice cream rolls, glazed with a bit of choco syrup and a bit of strawberry syrup, sprinkled with white chocolate flakes, then topped with slices of strawberry for a finish.

“I'll have that too,” Momo confirms.

“We'll have three medium of the strawberry one” Mina reaches her payment to the lady in front of her. Her sweat was visibly rolling down her forehead. She can't wait to get a taste of that ice cream.

“Wow~ Minari's treating us the dessert~ You're so kind~ Hehehe thank you!”

“You two always treat me to some sweets, too. So it's okay.” Mina flashes her gummy smile as she admits her shyness from getting complimented by her unnies.

“Thank you for choosing strawberry flavor! This is gonna take a while, so please take a seat right there beside this cart.” Momo and Sana hurry to the bench. They've done a lot of walking that their feet were starting to hurt. A price to be paid when one's this much of a shopaholic.

Meanwhile, Mina stays standing in front of the shop as the ginger haired lady is now chopping fresh strawberries on top of the milky mixture on the cold plate. She does it swiftly and precisely, careful enough not to let the bits of the fruit scatter all over the place. Mina had already seen how ice cream rolls are made, but this time seems a bit... different. Somehow, the mundane is magical this very moment. She slowly traces the slender arms, the broad shoulders, the petite and pretty face in front of her. Feeling the gaze on her, the lady briefly looks up the eyes that has been fixated on her own for a while now.

“Ma'am, I feel like my face would come right off if you keep looking at me like that for too long,” the lady remarks, grinning down on her work. “I'm sorry if this is taking too long.”

“No, it's okay. I like it.”

She likes it? What does she like, exactly? The lady is not sure what to make of those words.

“Chaeyoung. Son Chaeyoung. You can call me that, ma'am,” the lady suddenly introduces herself to the now bewildered customer.

“Chaeyoung,” Mina, surely this time, whispers only to herself. “Chaeyoung.” She has taken a liking to the sound of that name. “Mina, by the way. Myoui Mina,” she speaks up this time to make sure her awkwardly, seconds-late reply was not muffled down by the street chatter.

“Miss Mina. I'll tell you what. Your friends have great taste in ice cream rolls. I mean, this flavor is my personal favorite. I grow the strawberries myself. My family has a strawberry farm at home and I hand pick these babies myself. I hope you all like it.” But in all honesty, Son Chaeyoung hopes that, at the very least, Mina—out of the trio—would like it.

“Wow. That's impressive,” Mina's eyes brighten up at Chaeyoung's mini trivia of herself.

But why is she suddenly talking about that, though? I didn't ask... 

“Um, how long have you been making ice cream rolls?” Mina throws a question. She feels that the conversation needs to keep going. Or else—

“I don't actually own this ice cream roll cart. It's my aunt's. It's just that I help her out from time to time. Well, I get some free time from school sometimes, and I could really use some money. It's Saturday today and, well, I don't usually do much on the weekends. Oh, and I've been doing this since the semester started. Haha. I noticed you kept glancing at the cart's appearance, too. I designed it myself!” Chaeyoung enjoys that small talk. Her eyes, though looking at the ice cream rolls she is making, begin to sparkle. Mina sees the excited look of Chaeyoung's face. Mina, too, feels comfortable—around her. She smiles at this realization.

“Here, Miss Mina! Yours and your friends' strawberry ice cream rolls—made by yours truly—are now ready! Oh, and if you happen to really like it, please tell your friends about our ice cream roll cart! Much appreciated! Enjoy!” Chaeyoung hands the medium-sized cups to Mina, Sana and Momo. Mina recalls how oddly quiet those two have been the whole time. Or maybe she didn't hear them having their own talk, in their own odd world.

Anyway, it feels as though she has been pulled back into reality—as if that little time with Chaeyoung was an amusement park experience. She doesn't want that—the unmistakable thrill she felt—to fade away. “This is good! Incredibly good!” Mina raises her voice this time. A voice of affirmation, clearly directed to the ginger haired girl she met tonight.

“W-woah. Thank you, Miss Mina!” Chaeyoung feels the warm tingling in her cheeks as she clasps her hands together in a grateful pose.

Putting aside the cup of the delightful dessert, Mina hastily rips a leaf off her memo pad and writes something on it, then hands it over to the still lovingly smiling Chaeyoung—their fingertips slightly brushing past each other. “Have it! Thank you!” Mina scurried away, dragging her pals—the other two having no clue why they have to go so soon, but follow Mina anyway 'cause it's fun.

Chaeyoung is dumbfounded for a second, but then she takes a look at the piece of paper. Although now appearing calm and relieved, Chaeyoung cannot deny the fast beating of her heart.

I think I'll have a lot to look forward to.

She smiles and keeps it in her jumper's pocket. The smile stayed on her face as she greets her new customers.