They were best friends now. Or at least, Sana liked to think so in her heart as Mina stifled a laugh from beside her, the quiet giggle disappearing into the silence of the university library. They were studying together again like they often did these days, retreating into the cozy corners of the library to get away from the frigid winter cold and to find a place where they could study together in peace. But "peace" was somewhat of a relative term when a majority of their late night study sessions consisted of drawn out conversations held in hushed whispers.

"I think we spent more time studying each other than studying our assignments," Sana joked, looking at her homework, which remained untouched by the end of their study session.

"Do you regret?" Mina asked cheekily. "Do you wish you had done more work tonight instead of talking to me?"

And Sana would've replied with as equally a cheeky "of course not", except she turned and caught the faintest of knowing smirks on Mina's lips, a smile that dared Sana to deny how much she had enjoyed their prolonged conversations about everything and anything, their knees bumping slightly under the table, their fingers gently playing with each other as they had conversed.

"O-of course not," Sana replied, her voice cracking slightly, and Mina's smirk deepened.

Sana looked away and tried to contain the fiery blush that was blazing across her cheeks. Lately it was getting harder for Sana to toe the line between friendship and romance with Mina. The subtle flirting, just barely there, was becoming more than Sana's poor heart could bear. And as Mina had told Nayeon and Momo, they weren't NOT dating, but that didn't mean Sana could lean over the library table and kiss Mina as though they were lovers, as though the taste of autumn that surely existed on Mina's lips was for Sana alone to savor.

"...Sana?" Mina asked tentatively, waving a hand in front of the older girl's face to catch her attention. "Are you still in there?"

The movement snapped Sana out of her innocent day dream about the sweetness of Mina's lips, but not as much as the cool fingers that Mina pressed along Sana's cheeks. The unexpected chill against her burning face caused Sana to jolt with surprise, eliciting a look of concern and a hint of amusement from Mina.

There was a teasing reply from Mina that Sana only half heard as they started packing away their books, using Sana's increasingly distracted attention as an indication that they were done for the night. The only thing Sana could think about as she gathered her notebooks was how badly she wanted to tell Mina that she cherished the time they spent together, especially when Mina was exclusively hers.

Sana zipped up her backpack, eyes discretely gazing at Mina. Would she scare Mina if she admitted that she found a solace in the younger girl's presence that extended further that just having someone to chit chat with in the mornings and study with after class? Would she ruin their blossoming friendship if she told Mina that not NOT dating her was no longer enough? It seemed to be a question for another day with Mina already walking toward the door to fetch their coats. And after they left the library, they would part ways for the evening like they always did.

"Eh?" Mina said, stopping in front of the nearly empty coat rack with a blank look on her face. "My coat is gone."

"What?" Sana looked and quickly found her puffy jacket hanging where she left it, but Mina's expensive, fur trimmed coat was nowhere in sight. "Did someone take it on accident?"

"Accidental or not, the result is still the same." Mina sighed, feeling a dark cloud of frustration starting to build. "Perfect time to have to deal with snow," she added sarcastically.

Sana turned and looked through the glass double doors at the library entrance, amazed by the sight in front of her. A heavy snow was falling now, quietly making its appearance as they studied. The fluffy white tufts of snow piled lazily onto the streets, completely transforming the campus right before Sana's eyes.

"First snow," Sana squealed, unable to hide her delight.

Mina turned Sana, her annoyance over losing her coat ebbing away slightly at the sight of Sana's excitement.

"It's just snow, Sana," Mina pointed out. "What's so special about it?"

Sana laughed gently, letting warm memories of days long past bubble to the top of her heart. "The first snow of the year was always special to me. I spent every first snow since I was 7 playing with Momo." She continued to stare out the window nostalgically, remembering over a dozen first snows spent running through the snowfla