We arrived at our hotel after lunch.

The teachers thought it’d be more convenient to drop our stuff in our rooms before we explored around, so that was what they had us do.

 

My hand shakily unlocked our shared-room’s door and we invited ourselves inside.

I wasn’t prepared for tonight and being in the room already made me nervous for what’s to come.

 

After entering our room with our stuff, I instantly dropped my bag onto the floor with my mouth dangling open like an idiot from what I witnessed.

I’m sorry, but I’m screwed.

For whatever the reason, whether God blessed me or Satan was testing my self-control, we found out where we were supposed to sleep:

 

On a single, queen-sized bed.

 

“I thought we were promised a two-person bedroom?!” I gasped while Mina calmly dragged her luggage to the side, admiring the room and ignoring my dramatic-.

“It is a two-person room though.”

“But with one bed?!”

 

“It means we get to cuddle while we sleep.” I saw her smile, making my eyes enlarge themselves.

I felt like they’d pop right out of their sockets if I wasn’t careful.

 

Dangerous.

This situation is getting way too dangerous.

“I-I just thought we’d get a bed each, that’s all.” I mumbled while turning away, focusing myself with unpacking so I wouldn’t think about it more.

 

“Do you not want to sleep with me?”

 

Her question came out really, really wrong.

I couldn’t tell whether she worded it like that on purpose to tease me, or the Japanese girl’s word choices were purely limited by her Korean skills.

I honestly didn’t want to know the true answer, but mine is a definite no-

As in no, I’ve love to.

 

“I meant nothing bad, Minari.” I had to inform just in case.

I’d slap myself physically if I accidentally hurt her feelings.

“Focus on unpacking your stuff. We’ll be leaving soon.”

 

Just like I predicted- since I am a genius motherf*cker afterall- soon after sorting out our stuff in the hotel room we were all summoned to meet up in the lobby.

Our next stop was this shopping district nearby, which was only a 15-minute drive away.

It was basically a teenage-girl’s heaven on Earth thanks to all the shopping options it had to offer.

 

After briefly discussing about the meet-up time, we were all set free to explore on our own.

Honestly, who organised this sh*t and why do they trust us all so much?

We’re all stupid- teens who’d for sure get ourselves killed if we were too careless.

 

Yet here we are, roaming around an unfamiliar location, all by ourselves with no adult supervision whatsoever.

Was this trip a reward for the students or our teachers?

I mean- they do deserve it more than us for sure, since they had to deal with our bullsh*t for so long.

Oh well. Go enjoy your break from us, sirs and madams.

It won’t last long anyways.

 

 

As soon as our free time started, a bunch of fanboys and fangirls competed for Mina’s attention as they wanted her to accompany them with their shopping, but of course the shy penguin’s ultimate choice was to go wherever I went.

Those b*tches backed down as soon as I growled at them, though my was slapped by Mina again for showing aggression. More please.

However, I unexpectedly also found myself stuck in the same situation as her.

To be their mascot or tiny bodyguard or whatever-the-, I was surprisingly in high demand.

 

Eventually a group of girls succeeded with that as both of my arms were clung onto and I got dragged away with Mina waddling closely behind.

Honestly I felt like I was being arrested and taken to jail.

 

The girls were super pumped to have a tiger cub and a penguin in their shopping squad.

They kept on wanting us to try on all these clothing that were way out of my comfort-zone, and shoving snacks into our mouths whenever they had the chance.

We became overly-pampered babies, and I hated every second of it.

Mina seemed to have gotten used to it after a while, and even seemed to be enjoying her time with the girls.

I, on the other hand, was almost exploding from the excessive affection.

 

Of course I would be- I repelled them all for 2 years straight!

Why are they suddenly acting this way to me?

I’m not even nice to them still!

‘Chaeyoungieee!’ one would say, and ‘ off’, I’d literally reply!

Were these girls masochists?!

 

“Chaeyoungie you’re soooo cute!” I heard this chick cry out after placing a pair of movable cat-ears onto my head. “You really do look like a baby tiger- I can’t even!”

Then don’t, b*tch.

“Aren’t those emotion-detectors?” another joined in, “Apparently if they move alternately it means you’re super excited.”

“Let’s try it out!” the girls instantly crowded around, enjoying every second of me being their human-toy.

 

I had no escape route and was forced to play along.

Mina was merely standing at the side as an entertained audience.

Save me goddamn it.

 

The first girl gave me a gigantic embrace, absolutely crushing me within her arms.

For my short-, it was more of a choke-hold than a hug; probably the main reason to why the ears weren’t moving for her.

 

The next chick gave me a flying kiss as if my gay- was that easy to seduce.

Instant fail.

Go get reborn as Myoui Mina in your next life and you’d probably succeed.

 

The third lured me with my favourite snack, an information she managed to obtain during lunch and purchased on the way here.

She popped one right into my mouth and apparently the ears moved slightly after I started chewing.

They squealed at their tiny success.

I’m excited for the food and not you, fool.

 

“Mina-chan, give it a try!” one of them suddenly dragged my penguin into the mess, instantly triggering my Mina-sensitive heart.

I gulped as she approached; she had a small smirk on her face as if she knew exactly what would trigger the detector off.

Well honey, you don’t even need to do sh*t for the sensor to be triggered.

Just stand there and be the masterpiece you are and that’s enough.

 

… And literally, that was what happened.

 

She didn’t even get a chance to do anything and the ears were moving uncontrollably.

I don’t know if I saved myself or ruined a chance for myself, but it took nothing from Mina for it to work.

The other girls were completely satisfied from the experiment and amazed by Mina’s new talent of triggering my emotions.

I ripped the device off of my head quickly, placing it back in place before hiding away my red cheeks.

 

It’s more of a gay-detector for me.

ing false advertisement.

Dangerous stuff. 2/10.

 

 

Tired from all the shopping and walking, we settled down in a nearby café.

I was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted by the time I sat my down onto the chair.

I guess it showed since the girls were treating me like a baby once again.

 

“Ommo Chaeyoungie, are you alright? Here, drink some water!”

“Sorry for dragging you around nonstop. Let me treat you to some desserts!”

“Chaeyoung-ah, do you have the energy to glance over the menu or should I pick something for you? Trust me, I can tell what the best items are just by looking it over.”

“Aww, you’re gonna have a great night’s of sleep tonight!”

 

The final comment made me sit straight up, eyes widened and muscles tensed.

Mina, who sat across from my seat, was staring at me attentively- I didn’t actually see her stare at me since I was zoning out, but I could feel it.

I was too busy gay-panicking since the chick accidentally mentioned the topic, and now I wasn’t capable of functioning properly anymore.

 

Thankfully they let me be since they took my weird behaviour as me simply being too exhausted, but throughout our stay in the café Mina remained observant. To the surroundings, to the girls, to me, everything.

She didn’t speak much and simply just sat there and finished her food in peace.

I couldn’t really tell whether something was wrong since she had always been the quiet type.

I could only hope that she was alright.

 

Unfortunately for me, I was force-fed by the girl beside me who wouldn’t keep her hands off of me.

It was getting to a point where I’d usually snap, but I lacked the energy to even raise my voice at her.

Lucky you, b*tch.

 

As I chewed slowly, I finally took a clear look at Mina’s expression, and hot damn.

She could cut someone with those eyes of hers.

Not towards me, but to my left.

 

She was glaring straight at the girl who wouldn’t let my stomach have a break.

The chick insisted on me trying out all these desserts the girls had ordered, but my body was almost begging me to stop chewing despite my usual love for sweets.

 

Just as she was about to feed me another forkful, I heard my timid penguin speak up voluntarily for the first time of the day.

“Can you stop?” her voice was pretty quiet as usual, but you could easily sense the seriousness in her voice.

 

She successfully grabbed their attention, but the chick was struggling to understand her warning. “But this is so good!”

Bruh, another bite and I’ll die.

 

“Can’t you see she’s not feeling well? You’ve fed her enough.” Mina argued firmly with a frown on her face.

How can someone look so good while being upset?!

 

“Are you being jealous, Myoui?” the girl teased while the others snickered along.

“Aww, does our little princess Mina have a crush on our Chaeng?” another cooed playfully, but I could sense a weird tension forming.

Mina didn’t respond to her joke and the atmosphere quickly got awkward.

 

You don’t understand how happy I was when I heard my phone’s alarm go off, which I had set up earlier to remind myself of our meet-up time.

I stood myself up quickly, desperate to leave the scene, but my weak- became lightheaded from the sudden movement and I felt myself collapsing-

 

Though I didn’t crash onto the floor like I anticipated.

 

I looked up slowly and noticed a pair of arms around my petite body, holding me up firmly.

It was Mina.

 

“Chaeyoungie, are you okay?” she asked with concerned looks.

I found myself gulping from the sight, but I managed to conceal the gay by standing back on my own two feet properly.

“Y-Yeah, sorry.”

 

Despite feeling all better, she kept an arm around my waist protectively as we made our way over to regroup with the rest of the students.

We got back onto the bus and made our way to our final location before calling it a day.

It was nothing interesting, just an old museum about the history of the area and all that boring bullsh*t.

Mina was the only one truly intrigued since she was a foreigner, while everyone else merely roamed around while taking selfies with all their friends.

I kept myself busy by explaining stuff and being her personal human-dictionary.

It surely made time fly past way faster.

 

As the skies darkened outside, we returned back to the hotel.

The teacher gave us some spare time to rest before dinner, so we all headed back to our individual rooms- correction- shared, rooms.

I plopped my lifeless body onto one side of the bed despite my clothes being dirty.

I didn’t have the energy to care anymore, and thankfully Mina didn’t seem to mind.

 

I grabbed the remote controller and turned the TV on, switching around the channels aimlessly while Mina grabbed some clothing out of the closet.

“Is it okay if I go take a shower first?” she suddenly asked.

I had no clue to why she asked for permission, but I simply nodded.

 

Not long after she disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of water coming out of the shower-hose could be heard.

I controlled every cell within my brain to not imagine anything crazy despite the temptation.

God, was it hard to remain pure.

 

But for the respect of Mina and her gorgeous body, I won the battle against myself and focused on the TV program of my choice, Animal Planet.

Usually I wouldn’t be interested, but they were coincidentally airing an episode about penguins so I got hooked right away.

 

As I gained some penguin knowledge, I suddenly heard my name being called out from the bathroom.

I noticed I could no longer hear the sound of water, and Mina seemed to be troubled by something based on the tone of her voice.

I lowered the volume of the TV before shouting back an answer. “YES, MINA?”

There was a slight pause, but she soon replied- or at least she tried.

 

“(Penguin mumbles???)”

“Huh??” I got up from my comfy spot to hear better. Her voice was way too quiet for me to comprehend.

 

I stood myself right outside of the bathroom, leaning my ear onto the door. “What?”

“C-Can you help me find a towel, please?” I finally heard her ask, baffling my .

“There’s none in there?”

“I can’t find any, and I didn’t bring one inside either…”

“What kind of nonsense is this- a hotel bathroom that didn’t provide towels inside their freaking bathroom?!” I nagged while walking to the closet and drawers, digging around in hopes to find some.

 

Thankfully, I spotted them within the bottom drawer of the closet, making me face-palm at the hotel’s weird choice of placements.

“Found ‘em, Minari.” I called out while giving the bathroom door a few knocks.

 

I wasn’t given any time to brace myself before the door swung open slightly, revealing 3/5 of Mina’s bare upper body.

She was still completely wet since she lacked the item within my hands, thus water continued to drip from the ends of her hair.

She was shielding her chest protectively with one arm while extending another to retrieve the towel.

 

I instantly shoved it at her before slamming the door shut.

Another second of witnessing that image and I’d be a goner.

I don’t know if I could survive the night anymore.

 

I flung my body back onto the bed and curled up into a ball, internally screaming for help.

I then increased the TV’s volume in hopes that the program could distract me from the reoccurring image of a dripping wet Mina, but since it was about penguins, it didn’t really help much.

 

I sighed as I turned the TV off and throwing the remote to the side, watching it bounce once on the bed before rolling right off.

I didn’t bother with fetching it.

I couldn’t move without wanting to die.

 

The sound of the bathroom door opening caused me to have a mini heart attack.

I sat myself back up before witnessing my roommate walk out, all dressed and ready to dry her hair.

She took out her own hairdryer from her luggage and plugged it in before sitting herself down at the vanity table.

Instead of starting the dryer, I found her turning towards me with a shy smile.

“Can you dry my hair for me, Chaeyoungie?”

 

I was taken back by her random request, but also found it extremely adorable.

“Why? Don’t you have perfectly functioning hands?” I joked.

I shouldn’t give in to her that easily. I need to play that ‘push and pull’ game.

 

“I miss the times when my older brother would dry my hair when we were kids. It’s been so long ever since he moved out.” she said.

“You have a brother?!” I gasped from the piece of information. “All this time I thought you were an only child!”

“What makes you think that?” she now smiled curiously.

“You’re like, super smart and proper. Isn’t that how an only child acts since they get all the attention and education?” I shrugged, not understanding my reasoning either. “At least that’s how I imagine them to be.”

“Children without any siblings can become quite spoiled actually.” she revealed, “Though your interpretations of them can also be true, I in fact have a sibling.”

“Well, learnt something new today.” I grinned before I made my way over.

 

She closed her eyes as she enjoyed my service.

I carefully combed her hair with my fingers while drying them thoroughly.

Her hair was incredibly soft, no wonder so many people were obsessed with it. I could caress them forever.

 

Although I never had the chance to blow-dry my sibling’s hair since he was a dude with short- hair like my own, I got experience from the multiple slumber-parties I used to attend back when I was super tiny-

Age-wise, not height-wise.

I’m much taller now, okay?!

 

Thankfully I managed to finish my duty without burning her scalp- or at least I thought, since she never winced in pain.

Maybe she was just being polite and held it in.

Oh well.

 

I glanced at the clock and decided to take a quick shower also; it has been a long- day and my body was craving to be cleaned.

Learning from Mina’s incident, I grabbed a new towel from the same drawer and headed inside.

I enjoyed myself greatly as the shower felt nice and freshing, but I soon realised how ed-up I was.

 

I forgot to grab my clean clothes from the closet.

 

Chaeyoung, you did it.

Congratulations.

You’ve out-dumbed yourself.

You may die now.

 

I literally slapped myself on the cheeks, cursing every profanity I knew within my mind while standing in front of the door, reluctant to leave the bathroom. I had a few options here:

One was to call for help- but how can I possibly have her grab my and bra for me?!

Two was for me to it up and walk right out with only a towel to protect my glory.

The final one was to rot within the bathroom as a teen.

Despite wanting this option the most, I don’t think it’s do-able.

 

So, without much of a choice, I took a deep breath and slam-opened the door purely out of embarrassment.

I strutted straight to the closet without removing my gaze off from the floor.

I could feel my whole body burning up just from the thought that Mina was staring at me.

She probably was. I could always feel her gaze when she looked at me, and I felt something alright.

 

I felt like explaining my absurd appearance, but at the same time I didn’t and just want to pretend like it never happened.

I chose the latter as I couldn’t bring myself up to speak at that moment.

 

Hastily grabbing my stupid clothes, I stormed right back into the bathroom to get dressed properly.

I gave myself another slap on the cheeks before walking back out, fully clothed this time.

I took a peak at my roommate who had been resting on the sofa silently.

We made eye-contact and I finally realised how pink her own face was.

Oh my Lord, shoot me now.

 

“A-Are you okay?” she suddenly asked as I dried my short hair with just the towel.

“Why?” I simply replied while turning my back towards her. I don’t think I could control my facial expressions when I’m this flustered. “Do I not look okay to you?”

“You have a palm-mark on your face…” she managed to point out, surprising me with her eagle-like eyesight- or maybe I lost control of my own force and really engraved a super red marking onto my cheek without realising how obvious it seemed.

“Oh, I had to slap myself awake. I was falling asleep in there.” I lied straight through my teeth.

Thankfully she took it without any further questions, and soon afterwards we were called to head to the canteen for dinner.

 

 

God, I hope everything else will pass by smoothly tonight…