Mina was used to boring monday mornings by now. She was used to Jeongyeon stopping by her desk with a new joke before disappearing downstairs or hearing Wendy complain about the amount of papers she had to arrange. But what Mina didn't expect that boring monday morning while sitting at her desk was her boss, Chou Tzuyu sneaking up on her.

 

"Good morning,"

 

Mina jumped at her seat, "Tzuyu, hi!" She quickly got up, her eyes widening. "I-I mean, Ms. Chou! Um yes, it is a good morning. Good... morning." Mina chuckled to herself nervously and the urge to jump out the window got stronger when she saw Tzuyu trying to hold back a smile.

 

Mina internally winced at herself. God, the day was just starting and she managed to ruin it already by being her stupid awkward self. "You're here."

 

"Felt a lot better this morning so yeah. Here I am." Tzuyu chuckled.

 

Mina chuckled along softly, ducking her head and fidgeting with her fingers. 

 

Tzuyu looked down for a moment, collecting her thoughts probably. "I see you're not starting your day with coffee today?"

 

Mina took a deep breath, determined to play it cool for once and look confident. But once she opened , the words didn't come out. Her eyes met Tzuyu's and all she could think of was how different the CEO looked now than she did when she was home. At the company, she had this air of authority around her that truthfully speaking, sent shivers down Mina's spine in a very good way. Especially when Tzuyu furrowed her brows at the papers in her hands and tried to fix a problem no one was able to. And at home, she was the cutest, playing along with Melody's little games and showering her with love.

 

Tzuyu was all these wonderful things and honestly Mina had no idea which part she was attracted to more.

 

"Ms. Myoui?" Tzuyu's concerned voice barely reached Mina's ears. And Mina only then realized she's been wordlessly staring at Tzuyu for god knows how long. 

 

She panicked, whatever answer she previously had was completely forgotten, leaving her a stuttering mess. She blinked a few times and finally blurted out, "Oh y-yes. I'm taking your um, your advice." 

 

Great. Now she was not only an airhead, but also a liar. Mina couldn't believe she lied to Tzuyu's face when Nayeon was literally right behind the CEO, filling her a cup of coffee due to her request. She could only hope Nayeon took her sweet time bringing it to her. Preferably after Tzuyu was gone so she wasn't humiliated.

 

"That's great." Tzuyu smiled, pulling on the hem of her white jacket. 

 

"Yup." Mina looked away, smoothing down her skirt. She slightly shook her head out of habit, her bangs swaying from one side to the other. 

 

Mina's thoughts spiraled into very weird places as the silence took over and Tzuyu still stood there before her. Yesterday was amazing...in general. They were comfortable, honest but now everything was so awkward. It felt nothing like the talks they had before. Something felt different and Mina hated her brain for always thinking of the worst.

 

"Alright. Yeah." Tzuyu gave her a dimpled smile. "I uh, I assume you have some work to do. I'll leave you to it."

 

Mina pursed her lips and slowly nodded as Tzuyu walked away.

 

Right after Tzuyu went inside her office and shut the door, Mina let out a loud groan, plopping down on her chair and banging her head against the hard file folder.

 

"Uh-oh." Nayeon laughed, putting a steaming cup of coffee on her desk. "What was that about?"

 

"Nothing." Mina covered her face with her hands before she grabbed her cup, still frustrated that she couldn't say what she wanted to, and took a sip. "Just me being a complete idiot."

 

***

 

"I assume you have some work to do," Tzuyu repeated her earlier words to herself in a mocking voice. "You assume? Oh really? Yeah it's not like she's working here or anything." Tzuyu threw her head back, touching her burning cheeks with the back of her hands. "God. Why am I like this?"

 

Tzuyu opened her eyes when a knock on the door sounded in the room, resting her forearms on her desk as she told whoever it was to come in.

 

"Ms. Chou,"

 

"Ah, great timing! I was just about to call you," Tzuyu smiled at her assistant before looking down at her notes. "I want the head of every department in the meeting room in ten minutes. Also please call my lawyer and set up a meeting with him as well. It's time we clean up this mess."

 

"Of course, Ms. Chou." Her assistant nodded, "It's good to see you happy like this. We were all worried about you."

 

Did she look happy? Huh, maybe she did. After all Mina wasn't avoiding her anymore. And this guilt in her chest had subsided a little bit, all thanks to Mina calling Tzuyu her friend. Every word exchanged between them last night was tucked into a safe corner in Tzuyu's mind, making her heart race whenever she remembered.

 

"Thank you," Tzuyu stood up with a soft expression on her face. "You don't need to worry any further. I'm going to handle all of this very soon."

 

And Tzuyu did. She met up with her investors and explained the misinformation spread around before drawing them in with her new intriguing ideas for future projects, hired a few high-status reporters and made them write multiple pieces on different papers to counter the original article that sparked the fire. And lastly, she went to every department in her company and talked with her employees, gathering their thoughts about the scandal and answering any questions they had. All in all, everything seemed to be going well.

 

Things were definitely going to improve over time and Tzuyu wanted nothing more than to go back to how things were used to be in the company.

 

Doing all of that since so early in the morning was beyond exhausting but Tzuyu felt...good. Very good. It was a nice day.

 

Once she returned to her office and opened the door, she saw Seolhyun sitting at her desk.

 

"What are you doing here?"

 

"It's good to see you too." Seolhyun smiled, spinning in Tzuyu's chair like a little kid. "I came to see what your plan was to deal with all of this. I'm actually quite impressed."

 

Tzuyu crossed her arms with the faintest hint of a smile.

 

"It's not how I would have preferred to resolve things but I guess this could work too."  Seolhyun stood up, walking closer and closer towards her. She grabbed a few strands of Tzuyu's hair and played with it.

 

Tzuyu grabbed her hand and took a step back . "What's gotten into you," The CEO laughed, unable to make sense of her friend's actions. "Are you drunk?"

 

Seolhyun hummed. "Nope. These blinds are so useless by the way, Mina's been watching us ever since you entered the room."

 

Seolhyun grinned when Tzuyu immediately let go of her hand.

 

"What... what does Mina have to do with anything?"

 

Tzuyu absolutely hated the all knowing smile on Seolhyun's face. "Office romances don't end well, Tzuyu."

 

"Ah, leave me alone..." Tzuyu whined, passing Seolhyun to drop her notes on her desk. She froze when Seolhyun wrapped her arms around her waist.

 

"Your face is all red, aww." She giggled. "Do you really like her that much?"

 

Ignoring the question, Tzuyu frowned as her face got hotter. "Aren't you supposed to pick Melody up from daycare? You know how scared she gets if you're late. Come on, let go of me."

 

"You, ma'am, are adorable. I'll go now but we are going to talk about this–" Seolhyun pulled away just as someone entered without knocking.

 

Someone being Mina.

 

"Ms. Chou, these need to be approved. It's urgent." Mina's warm eyes turned icy when her gaze trailed from Tzuyu to Seolhyun, glaring at her. Seolhyun would have laughed at how obvious she was, but she figured it would be best if she didn't.

 

Tzuyu nodded, taking the papers from Mina's hands. She signed them in silence and cleared when Mina didn't take the papers back.

 

"Sorry," her employee mumbled, bowing her head a little and grabbing the papers Tzuyu was extending to her. "Thank you."

 

After an awkward silence, Seolhyun stepped in. "It's good to see you again, Mina."

 

"You, uh, you too. Seolhyun...was it?"

 

"Yep." Seolhyun smiled at Mina's cute attempt to act like she forgot her name. "Anyways, I gotta run."

 

"Wait," Tzuyu called out as Seolhyun opened the door. "I haven't introduced you to the staffyet!"

 

"Next time, babe. Call me!"

 

"I will not." Tzuyu rolled her eyes as Seolhyun left without looking back.

 

"I...I should also–" Mina pointed back at the door with her thumb.

 

The look on Tzuyu's face changed from annoyed to sheepish. "Oh. Um, right. And I should–" The CEO lamely pointed at her big desk, copying Mina's awkward expression.

 

"Yes. Well then," Mina bowed her head slightly and turned around. She pressed her lips together, feeling really embarrassed for some reason.

 

Tzuyu crossed her arms and hang her head low as blood rushed to her face. "Keep uh, keep up the good work," she said as her employee grabbed the door handle.

 

She was just starting to regret saying it when Mina shot her a small smile before shutting the door.

 

***

 

The secrecy of it all was a bit ridiculous.

 

But ever since their talk at Tzuyu's place, Mina felt the need to hide whatever they were doing from others. So sending her boss a quick text after work (which took her hours to send and she reread it so many times the language started making no sense) , she waited for Tzuyu outside the company building.

 

Mina wasn't confident. She had absolutely no idea – okay, maybe some idea – what was going on and it made her so nervous, she could feel her hands shaking.

 

As she waited for the CEO, Mina chanted to herself what she was going to say and for a brief moment she felt like she was back in first grade, repeating the lines she memorized for the play a million times before finally going on stage, dressed as an apple.

 

Tzuyu stepped out of the building. 

 

Spotlights on.

 

Mina only hoped this also didn't end with her forgetting her lines on the spot and clumsily running off the stage to her dad. Yes, she was six back then but that memory haunted her even now. So Mina very much preferred not to add more trauma to that. 

 

And hey, Mina could be smooth. She used to be one of the popular kids in high school– she definitely had her charms. How effectively she used them though depended on the day... and exactly who she was talking to.

 

Mina watched almost in slow-motion as Tzuyu walked towards her, corners of her lips curving upwards in a gentle smile as she lifted her hand and gave a small wave. The suit she was wearing looked different in the dim street light, and she looked taller somehow.  Mina sighed deeply, trying to calm herself down.

 

"Hi," Tzuyu tilted her head once she stopped before her, waves of her hair following the movement.

 

Mina blinked up at her, smiling. "Hi."

 

It was late, but people still walked in a hurry around them. The street light flickered once and then twice before Tzuyu chuckled. Bumping Mina's shoulder shyly, she started to walk aimlessly on the pavement, prompting Mina to follow. "I'd love to get to know you more outside of work,"

 

It was blunt, very sudden. But Mina decided she liked that about Tzuyu. "Me too," she whispered in a small voice, letting the gentle breeze carry her words.

 

Tzuyu must have heard it - miraculously - because she leaned down close until their eyes met. Dimples on her cheeks deepened in place when Mina blushed beautifully, her eyes flickering away. 

 

She chuckled quietly. "We didn't have lunch together today."

 

"You've been really busy. I didn't want to bother you."

 

Tzuyu hummed, seemingly lost in her thoughts as she looked up at the sky. No stars. "I wish you did. Felt a bit empty, eating without you. The food didn't even taste good."

 

Her words kept fluttering Mina's heart. With a grin she couldn't suppress, she spoke softly, glancing up at Tzuyu. "Sorry. Guess I owe you lunch."

 

"Only if you want to." The CEO stopped walking, hands in her pockets and amusement swimming in her brown eyes that looked down to meet Mina's.

 

Mina crossed her arms with a firm nod. Normally, she would've been afraid to hold eye contact longer than a few seconds, but something about this moment gave her courage. The honesty in Tzuyu's doe eyes was beautiful to see, holding so many bare feelings in them. She looked almost vulnerable-- in a good way. Like she trusted Mina with her whole heart. 

 

It was the first time someone's eyes spoke to Mina like that.

 

***

 

When Mina got home, she took off her coat and moved to the living room. Ray was laying on the couch, sleeping peacefully. He didn't come barking and jumping at the door like he used to, but that was okay. Mina landed a kiss on his head and his soft fur. "I'm home."

 

She stepped into the bathroom, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror and ending up staring at it. She looked happy. It took her off guard for a moment, having gotten too used to the tired woman staring back at her. She turned the sink on and washed her hands, her mind still stuck on Tzuyu's words and her pretty eyes. She splashed water on her face and it wiped away some of her make up. The smile though, it stubbornly stayed on her face.

 

*** 

 

It was some time later on a normal sunday evening when Tzuyu sent her a text out of the blue. Sure they were talking a lot lately, but they had never ever texted each other before. Apart from business related stuff, of course.

 

Mina was blankly staring up at the ceiling when her phone buzzed. Her eyes narrowed at the bright screen, quickly lowering the brightness. Her heart raced faster when she realized who the text was from. 

 

Chou Tzuyu [7:13pm] 

I was cooking dinner and Melody reminded me to add salt. Apparently someone told her it was important. :)

 

Warm. That's how Mina felt as her eyes skimmed over the words a thousand times, imagining the two in the kitchen.

 

Panicking over leaving Tzuyu on read for too long, she quickly typed. Then deleted. Then typed again. Deleted again. This went on until she saw the bubbles appear, indicating Tzuyu was typing. 

 

Chou Tzuyu [7:18pm]  

She wanted to say hi.

 

Mina received a photo right after that. Melody was sitting on the kitchen table, her little feet hanging off the edge, a blanket wrapped around her. Mina chuckled at Melody's wide eyes that stared at the camera, a pacifier in , her tiny hand peeking out of the blanket as if to wave.

 

Something about the photo calmed her nerves.

 

 [7:19pm]  

She's so cute. Tell her I also said hi! And you're cooking?

 

Bubbles appeared right away.

 

Chou Tzuyu [7:19pm]  

Yeah. Why?

 

[7:20pm]

Didn't know you could cook.

 

Oh, wait a second. Was she coming off too cold? Should she add a smiley face, emojis? Oh no, the bubbles! Mina had to add something to that horribly cold reply before Tzuyu said anything else!

 

[7:20pm]

That's cool.

 

Wow. Nailed it. That was close. Mina proudly sighed at the screen, reading the new text that just appeared.

 

Chou Tzuyu [7:20pm]

Nooooo! I can only cook simple recipes, I'm terrible at it :( 

 

[7:20pm]

That's okay. I'm not very good either. I mostly order out.

 

Chou Tzuyu [7:21pm]

Really? That's hard to believe after I've tasted that chicken soup you made.

 

[7:21pm]

I was lucky. Usually I just cook for my dog~

 

Tzuyu left her on read for a few minutes and Mina felt the disappointment creep inside her chest as she waited, hoping this wasn't the end of their conversation. A few more minutes passed and Mina locked her phone with a sad sigh before getting up from the bed. 

 

Just as her hand touched her laptop, her phone buzzed and the screen lit up. Curious and heart pounding, she grabbed it once again.

 

Chou Tzuyu [7:32pm]

Aww, you have a dog? What breed? ^^

 

Wait. Was answering right away the right thing to do? Would she seem too desperate? It took maybe two seconds for Mina to shake her head, amused by her own thoughts. There was no point in playing her cards like that. No, she was not going to let sweet, kind Tzuyu wait for absolutely no reason. She rolled her eyes and let her thumbs type out a reply. 

 

[7:32pm]

Purebred dachshund :] His name is Ray.

 

Chou Tzuyu [7:32pm]

Can I see him?

 

Mina looked down at her dog. He was munching on his favorite toy. She snapped a quick shot of him and sent it, feeling a bit nervous for some unknown reason.

 

Tzuyu replied with a silly sticker, calling Ray adorable. Mina's lips parted slightly when her smile got wider.

 

They kept talking. Mina had no idea how much time passed and quite frankly she didn't care.

 

 Tzuyu suddenly sent her a video with the caption 'see, I told u :('. The video was of Melody trying out the soup Tzuyu just made.

 

Mina laughed when the toddler squeezed her eyes shut and frowned at the taste, not swallowing just yet, glaring at the bowl with her cheeks puffed out.

 

"Do you like it?"  Video-Tzuyu asked behind the camera, chuckling at her baby's reaction.

 

Melody stared at Tzuyu for a few seconds, finally gulping the soup down and furrowing her eyebrows. To Mina's surprise she nodded– despite the horrified look on her face.

 

"You do? Do you want more?"

 

Melody shook her head, grabbing her pacifier to put it in as she pushed the bowl away.  "No, you can hav' it."

 

The video ended with Tzuyu's melodic laughter and Mina's heart grew warmer. She did replay the video quite a few times but Tzuyu didn't need to know that. 

 

Chou Tzuyu [8:06pm]

Hey, do you maybe want to get bubble tea tomorrow and talk some more? I know a really nice place.

 

Mina kind of froze. She blinked at the text. Did Tzuyu just ask her out..? Was that what was happening? Now hold on a second–

 

Chou Tzuyu [8:08pm]

Of course, it's okay if you don't want to. :)

 

[8:08pm]

I want to. I would really love to.