"Can I have 30 seconds of your time?"

Chaeyoung remained dazed in front of her.

And Mina's heart is beating.

It has always been beating before, but she never felt it. Not when she's taught at a young age the anything uncontrolled is abhorrent. Especially the ones that are inside us. That to be on top is the only way for her to live —nothing less. So she hid, she tucked, she pushed it deep down. She did not shed a tear when her mother died. Or flinched at the ache she felt when she had to do 32 Fouettes despite an injured knee. She remained calm when Ray, her most beloved dog, needed to be taken down due to his old age. She just simply sat with him the whole time, and planted a small kiss on Ray's head as her best friend of 10 years closed his eyes for the last time.

Because nothing distracts a Myoui. Not even themselves.

But tell that to Mina who's on the verge of running away because she doesn't know if she said the right thing or she just broke Chaeyoung. She just wanted to return the joke Chaeyoung thought she just had all to herself at the Chemistry Lab. But then maybe Mina doesn't really have any humor in her body. She remained still until Chaeyoung snapped out of her bubble.

"Ah! Yes, Mina-unnie. We... uh, w-we can talk.", the younger finally replied, visibly fidgeting. Eyes shaking. She is one awkward fellow.

At least she spoke, I did not broke her., Mina quietly lets out a sigh. She gave another smile at Chaeyoung, hoping to get her message across —also, speaking isn't that fatal.

I'll just say it then.

"Thank you, Chaeyoung-ssi. You can ease yourself now, it's okay."

And there it is, her dimples. That deep, poke-able feature that peeks out of their hiding when she smiles, Mina remembers it clearly. She never intended to but there are details that are hard to miss, like how she scrunch her nose when she laughs; how loud it sounds, or how always hang open when she's thinking. She sat on the bench and Chaeyoung followed quickly, forgetting that she has groceries to deliver, hooked to Mina's welcoming aura.

"Since you were brave enough to speak, I'll give you a headstart, ask me first.", Mina said as Chaeyoung sits beside her, eyes still wide —glimmering. And she's not beware of the small  space in between them anymore. The younger's voice rhymed well with the wind, Mina tapped her feet, along to the tune she can only hear.

Her heart beats, she can feel it. But no, she doesn't mind.

This is really the beginning.

...

"What the hell are you doing? You should watch where you're walking."

What?

Mina heard footsteps coming closer, and closer. The voice echoed through Mina's ears —distorted, distant; as if the speaker is underwater and not actually a meter away from her. The last thing she remembers is her foot tripping over the other, making her lose her balance. Then everything went white. And now she's mid-air and her face is about to kiss the floor.

Except it didn't.

She felt hands on her shoulders that pulled her up, twist her around, leading her. A puppet she became, abiding to the commands of the person whose face she still can't see, and her muscles ain't moving, even how much she tries to.

Everything is a blur, it's almost hard to picture that she's still at the same hallway, going to the gymnasium, at her first day in a new school.

"There you go. I hope it won't hurt. Take care from now on."

What is going on?! Why can't I move? Are those my papers floating in the air?

Mina is beyond perplexed at this point. Trying to get a hint of what this could possibly be, to take a look and know who this girl is, and why it seemed like she is okay with things mysteriously hanging steady without anyone or anything holding it. She puts everything to make her eyes move but to no avail. She's completely paralyzed. Every second feel like it's being dragged longer, and she can't do anything.

"See you again fresh meat!"

She's now facing the ceiling, and the steps are now getting farther and farther away. Mina can't process how this came to be, she already accepted her fate of hitting the floor with her forehead the moment she felt her weight shifted weirdly... but now she's partly levitating, and partly terrified. It's not like everyday the universe decides to stop itself. Literally.

Everything is quiet. The steps are gone.

A white light flashed before her eyes again.

"Aaah!!", she yelled as gravity returned, making her hit the floor —her voice is back. The papers finally fell down, and the rustling of the leaves outside the hall became audible again. Mina touched her chest, still sitting on the floor, the thing inside is beating frantically. Breaths. Big, deep breaths. She's still alive, and no bruises. She was suspended in the air for quite a few moments but no injuries nonetheless. She remembers the steps, making her stand up quickly, running to the hallway to catch the person responsible for the mess wilding in her ribs. Only to find nobody.

She choose to go to the clinic to have herself checked than to continue to the gymnasium. She still has a class to get to. Drained, she slept the whole entrance ceremony away with questions she don't have any answers to.

Mina was convinced that it was a hallucination.

Until she was proven wrong.

It was halfway through lunch, she was with Momo and Sana, looking for a suitable dessert at the cafeteria. Arguing whether taking a crumb of bread from the corner of someone's lips is considered flirting. Sana is losing the debate to Momo, and she couldn't help but agree, teasing her bubbly friend has always been a delight. She was smiling at Sana when she was stunned by a white light –and there she is again, unable to move; but still fully aware of the familiar steps that resounds to her ears.

"Hello there, fresh meat. We met again."

That's her... from the hallway.

Mina wanted to jolt away, or face the girl who's making it so hard for her to control her own body. She still doesn't know why everyone stops when she comes by. Is she a ghost? An alien? Or is Mina suffering the aftereffects of sleep deprivation because of playing too much games? She arrived at the most realistic answer, hallucinations —until she felt something grazed her cheek, and touched the back of her ear. Her surroundings might be hazy but the sudden volt she felt as the stranger's fingers came in contact with her skin was crystal clear —and lingering.

"Marc Jacobs? hm, quite the style Mina-unnie. Looks good on you."

And she heard that. Ghosts do not know brands, or so she thinks, meaning the on