A/N: alternate song for this on the playlist is Can I Call You Tonight

Mina's voice was my favorite thing about her. It was a spectrum of emotions; I loved being on the phone with her just to hear her talk. I'd always ask about her day, or about her family back in Japan. I never wanted calls  to end, because she would put me in a trance, like I was in a safe bubble for as long as she spoke to me.

But by being a spectrum, it meant I also experienced Mina upset. When she was angry, there was nothing I could say or do. 

Mina snapped at me once for being insensitive towards her. We were having a conversation and I joked about ballet, which she took offense from. I tried to apologize, but she shut me out for an entire day.

"Mina, it's Momo. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's me again. You haven't picked up my calls, so I thought I'd just leave voicemail. I'm really sorry being insensitive."

"Mina? Are you still mad? Please don't be."

I left her a ton of voice and text messages - which made her angrier.

Mina, I don't ing get you.

I think that if one day, you meet somebody and you jive as perfectly as it could ever be, I hope you won't forget that humans are flawed and will never be 100%  ideal. 

If you call somebody perfect, remember they are still human. We can only mimic perfection.

Which was why, to me, Myoui Mina was still the most perfect human in my eyes, and I loved her for her mistakes and humanity. It made me see how ed up I was, how I wasn't exempt from hurting people, hurting myself, becoming selfish, getting upset - every crease that came with being human. Mike, from my favorite film American Ultra, said that he and his girlfriend Phoebe were the "perfect, ed up couple."

Perfect and ed-up aren't opposites. They're complements of each other; one balances the other. Sometimes you find both in a person, sometimes it takes the both of you to bring out both in each other. If they keep bringing out just the perfect, or just the -up, then you have to tip the scales to balance that. 

Sometimes we just have to accept the fact that our favorite people won't always be all over us, if at all. They mean the world to us, but it doesn't mean leaving everything behind. If they have a world of their own, be glad. They won't fall apart if anything happens to the two of you.

***** 

Mina texts me the next day, almost noontime.

Let's eat.

And as confused as I was, like nothing at all happened last night, I was thankful. 

Mina wasn't the type to discuss matters. A red flag, but I hadn't noticed. I always just thought she was quick to forgive and move on. 

So it happened again. And again. And again.

The perfect person makes mistakes. 

The perfect person doesn't know they are flawed. 

The perfect person needs you to forgive and love especially when they're at their worst. 

Momo, this is going to destroy you slowly. My better logic was trying to warn me, but Mina felt like a drug. 

I met Mina at the cafe she requested. I walked over to kiss her forehead before sitting across her. Studying her for a moment in silence, I tried to figure out if she had any grudge left over from last night's argument. 

"Are we good, Minari?" I studied her face cautiously, reaching out my hand atop her palm. She felt warm. I had always looked to her for warmth, and I had learned that if Mina's hands were cold, it was because something bothered her. Somehow, I felt a serene air washing over her, as she got lost in deep thought over my question. 

"We're okay." She smiled at me reasurringly, before frowning. "I'm hungry, go and order for us." 

My heart lurched inside my chest. I could never resist her. Not ever.