The Taiwanese-born earned new comrades, both vertically-challenged.
Then, a new student arrives...

"Oh, did I mention she's from Japan?"

 

---

 

A tall girl clad in her school’s tracksuit with her raven hair tied in a pony-tail, raised her red bow parallel to her shoulder’s height while pulling the string to her cheek, an arrow attached. The sound of the string being released filled the silent area, the arrow barely missing the center of the target.

“10!” The coach announced with a clap, “Good job, Chou.”

She released the breath she’s been holding in relief as she observes her accurate shots, a small satisfied smile growing on her face. It was the last arrow, signalling the end of her training. From the corner of her eyes, she catches two figures cheering from behind the window glass pane made for spectators. She watched her friends’ antics with an embarrassed frown, but gave them a wave anyway. She proceeds to her coach after retrieving her arrows on the target board, before listening to her evaluations and dismissed for the day.

“Tzuyu, I think you should stop doing archery.”

The said girl raised a brow questioningly, “Why?”

“You’re going to shot me through the heart someday.” Dahyun wiggles her eyebrows in an annoying way, dramatically re-enacting the way an arrow pierced through her chest. She received a slap in the arm from the laughing Chaeyoung.

“What are you saying? Geez...”

Tzuyu laughs along, finding Dahyun’s cheesy lines to be entertaining. She’s always coming up with these pickup lines and Tzuyu would usually be the receiving end. Chaeyoung is too eccentric to react to her flirting, Dahyun reasoned, the smol cub finding her advances to be comical rather than flirty. 

If one could describe their friendship in one word, it is compatibility. The three of them complement each other in a way that one would be the intermediate of the other. Tzuyu met them during her first year of high school, more specifically during their first PE class of the semester when she had to participate in a sprinting evaluation for her class. 

Tzuyu had an average height before entering middle school but somehow, her height had shot up suddenly out of nowhere. With those long pairs of legs, she can easily outrun her classmates in their sprinting match. She was also considered to be a valuable asset with her natural prowess in sports, having the needed strength and stamina to be in every game. Just name it, basketball, volleyball, soccer; she can play them. Well, except for swimming since she’s had this fear of drowning as a kid. However, due to her reserved nature, Tzuyu had politely declined every invitation of the sports club in her middle school, constantly giving an apologetic bow to her sunbaes for the first two weeks of school each year.

She had become the talk of the school since then, famous for being the “club crusher” due to her adamant refusal to be in any club over the years. Chaeyoung was one of the few interested in her, but they never shared a class together despite being in the same grade. When they started high school, she was ecstatic to know the tall girl is her seatmate, not because she is popular but she has one accomplishment to achieve; to cross out the last bucket list of her middle school year. Well, it was already overdue but it still counts. She made the rules, anyway.

 

Chaeyoung was crouched on the ground, properly tying her special edition running shoes again for the third time, but her eyes were actually glued to her prey innocently warming up on the bleachers all by herself. 

The one and only Chou Tzuyu.

She stood up with a puffed out chest, walking to the starting line with an air of dignity while her classmates cheered for her, some patting her back for encouragement before running off to hide under the tree shades by the bleachers. It was a hot day, and everyone is restless from the heat. But a certain cub is already heating up her engine for her turn to run in the next round. It seems like a competition, when it was just a yearly sprinting evaluation for her PE class. But to Chaeyoung, a practice or a match, she takes pride in her running. She wasn’t called the “lightning Chae-bolt” for nothing. She was the fastest in her track team in middle school, and will keep her record in check in high school too.

That is, until she was met with the sports prodigy with the longest pair of limbs.

She knows Chou Tzuyu, also known as the Club Crusher. The name itself made her shudder, not of fear, but excitement. It has been a while since she’s met a worthy opponent and this tol human might be the one she’s looking for. They haven’t talked yet, despite having tables glued next to each other. She was a bit intimidated by Tzuyu’s aura, there was this certain aloof air surrounding the girl that made her unapproachable. However, her eyes gleamed in anticipation when the teacher mentioned her name along with her seatmate for the next round.

She made small jumps to loosen her muscles and calm her nerves, her eyes caught the tall presence on her side. She turned her head to the girl, the latter staring at her with unreadable eyes. Chaeyoung thought she was looking down at her in mock, and just as she was about to declare war, a loud voice beat her to it.

“Ha! There’s no way that shorty can beat my speed!”

Chaeyoung whipped her head to the group of students lounging on the bleachers, her eyes caught the girl with skin as white as the snow, she thought it was a living doll. She was being hyped up by the others in a somewhat playful argument of who can run the fastest within the first year students.

“I was the fastest in my previous school, just so you know.”

Chaeyoung was seething because first, this person claimed she’s short, and second, she had the audacity to boast about her skill when her turn to run hasn’t even come yet. Who is she, by the way?

“Kim Dahyun!” 

The teacher’s voice boomed, shutting down the noise of the class and making the girl leap in shock as she pointed to herself with a forced grin. “You called for me, saem?”

“To the starting line, now!” The female teacher pointed to Chaeyoung’s direction with a deep scowl, clearly irritated by the new girl’s loud voice, not to mention the heat is not helping her already bad mood.

“What? But–”

“NOW!” 

“Aish, for real...” She groaned, only to receive a whooping cheer from the people circling her as they wish her luck, loudly snickering among themselves at her misfortune.

She was pretty laidback from Chaeyoung’s observation, not having the slightest concern of the fuming Miss Ham glaring daggers at her. It was just a few days after freshman year started and she had already gained followers from the looks of it. 

“You better watch out.” Dahyun declared, her fingers pointing back and forth between her eyes and Chaeyoung’s. ”I’m gonna leave you in dust.”

Chaeyoung can feel a nerve pulsating in her forehead. She was about to retort back, but was interrupted again when the new girl loudly gasped.

“Omo! You’re tall! Like... so tor? Yanno what am sayin’?” She sputtered in her broken English.

Tzuyu, who was silently minding her own business and warming up, ducked her head down. She gave the pale girl a deep stare, sizing her up with her usual blank face.

“You’re just short.” She bluntly said.

The girl was visibly shocked, her jaw dropping from what she thought was a direct insult to her dignity height.

“I’m just vertically challenged!”

“KIM! You want to start running or what?!”

“Yes, saem!”

The girls immediately got into the starting position, waiting for the sound of the whistle to begin. The result of the 100m race can already be predicted as the two sports prodigy zipped forward with immense speed, leaving the pale girl behind shouting for them to wait for her. It was just a millisecond apart, but Chaeyoung had successfully finished the race in the first place. She was panting heavily albeit the grin on her face. She turned to her side with a smug, only to see the tall girl wasn’t even sweating. She was looking back at their running partner, concernedly watching the wobbling girl struggling to run.

“Yah! Huff huff... Why didn’t... huff huff.. you wait –” 

Tzuyu, who has had her eyes on Dahyun since the start of the run, saw that she had sidetracked, slowly approaching a hidden small hole in the grass field.

“Watch out!”

With long strides, Tzuyu managed to divert Dahyun’s direction from the hole, only for the latter to stumble on her own feet as she clings to Tzuyu’s arm for support. Despite her short stature, Dahyun has quite a heavy built, causing Tzuyu to lose her balance as she tries to save both of them from falling. Chaeyoung, who had also ran to save the tofu girl albeit a tad late, screamed in shock as she was plummeted to the hot ground by the giant and the dwarf.

“Yah! Get off of me!”

“I can’t! My leg is stuck with her long –... stop squirming, you dwarf!”

“What?! What did you just call me, you – you, gremlin! Ha, take that!”

“What did you –”

“Hey, could you guys kindly get off?”

“NO!” The small girls yelled to the struggling Tzuyu who tried to untangle her legs from the wiggling shorties, only for a shadow to appear and loom over them in the appearance of their furious PE teacher.

“YOU THREE! TEACHER’S OFFICE, NOW!”

The girls were reprimanded by the PE teacher, visible frowns etched on their faces at the mention of detention after school. Tzuyu was confused why she was included when it was obvious the problem was with the other two but being the reserved girl she is, only kept silent and listened along with the teacher’s scolding. 

The girls grumbled when they met again during detention, except for Tzuyu who casually took a seat on an empty chair and took out her homework. It was silent for a few minutes, both not minding the other’s presence when a loud growl suddenly filled the quiet classroom. Chaeyoung ducked her head in embarrassment, avoiding the amused eyes of one pale girl.

“Pffft... What was that?”

“Shut up, you white tofu.”

“Oh, I considered that as a compliment so thank you.” Dahyun made a chef’s kiss sound.

“A second hand compliment for a cheap person like you.” Chaeyoung smirked, “Suits you well, don’t you think?”

“Yah! Take that back, you small gremlin!”

“Stop pretending like you’re any taller than me, dwarf!” 

“If there’s anyone deserving of calling me short, it’s that pole over there!”

Dahyun points to Tzuyu, who was cautiously watching their bickering from the corner. The girls waited for her to retort back, but she took out a lunchbox instead and laid it on her table.

“Um, I still have my lunch so if you want...?”

“Oh, food!” Chaeyoung made a beeline towards her table, taking a seat opposite of the wary girl before the other glowers over them.

“Whoa, that looks good!” 

“Hey! She’s offering this to me, not you. You’re not the one having a growling stomach... right, Chou?”

Chaeyoung turns to Tzuyu with an expectant look, hoping the girl will take her side.

“Well, I haven’t eaten too so I was wondering if we could share?”

Chaeyoung happily agreed, “Of course –”

“With the three of us.” Tzuyu stated firmly. 

“Oh.”

The girls in front of her exchanged looks, still annoyed with the other’s presence, only to falter when they heard the tall girl say the magic word.

“Please?”

Chaeyoung abruptly stood up, not catching the deep frown of Tzuyu’s face. Dahyun was also feeling a bit guilty from the crestfallen face, only to have a chair shoved to her bum.

“In case your short legs decided to fail you for standing too long.” Chaeyoung said without making eye contact with the dubu, who was grinning happily from the small gesture.

Tzuyu watches them in relief before offering her seatmate her pair of chopsticks. She might not show it but Chaeyoung was definitely feeling pleased with the situation. Who knows that their small feud had made her gain new friends, along with getting her bucket list completed for the first time in 16 years. 

That night, she didn’t forget to fill out her worn out notebook, finally succeeding in completing her middle school bucket list.

 

Defeat Tol Yoda Tzuyu and Dubu in sprinting match: CHECKED

 

Since then, they had this unspoken agreement to always share their lunch together. Well, it was mostly Chaeyoung who pestered Tzuyu to give her a bite or two of her meal while Dahyun would pop out of nowhere into their class, shamelessly stealing a random chair and joining their lunch time, uninvited. Not that they mind, since she’s a joyful presence as compared to Tzuyu’s lack of communication and Chaeyoung’s tendency to daydream whenever she can. 

Entering their second year of high school, the trio are inseparable. Their classmates had even made a special name for them; the School Meal Club, which Dahyun had unabashedly declared to be the leader with no room for arguments. Whatever rolls her way, Chaeyoung said.

“I’m still butthurt you refused to join the track team, Tzuyu.” 

“I need the scholarship, Chaeng. You know that as much as I do.”

“We have the scholarship program too!”

The pout on the small girl was too cute, she would have pinched them if her hands were free. Chaeyoung had been persuading her since last year to join their track team, with the reason she’s lonely during practice and there’s not much competition between the team. Truthfully, Tzuyu had considered Chaeyoung’s offer. She likes the feel of wind hitting her face when she’s running, like she’s about to reach the sky and be free from all the hurt in the world.

The only time she feels truly unrestrained from everything. 

Perhaps, that’s the reason she can run fast; there’s nothing to worry about, nothing to think about. She can even beat Chaeyoung’s top speed record easily without even realizing it. But knowing how much Chaeyoung enjoys running and how competitive she can get, Tzuyu opted for the other scholarship program. Archery seems like the perfect match for her, requiring utmost control of her focus and self-control just to strike an arrow. It looks as if it's straightforward for others, but it’s a challenge for the girl who prefers some sort of tranquillity in her life.

“Why didn’t you ask Dahyun?”

“Oh, no thank you.”

The mentioned girl frowned from the dry response. “Yah! I can run too, you know?”

“Yeah, you can.” Chaeyoung clings her arm on Dahyun’s neck. “But you wouldn’t even last a few seconds, Dubu.”

“Get off me!” She shoves the cackling girl away. “I’ll show you how a pro really runs!”

 “Oh yeah? Should I give you a few seconds of head start?” 

Tzuyu grins from the side as they bicker. It was harmless, just their usual playful banter that surprisingly deepens their bond. Then she remembered the interview Dahyun had to run off to during lunch break, something about becoming a committee member for the student council.

“Dahyun, how was the interview?”

“Oh! I almost forgot about it.” She pulls out something from her bag, before turning around with a wide grin to proudly show a committee tag. “I got it!”

“Oh, wow! You did? But how –”

“Don’t ask, peasants.” Dahyun made a silent gesture with an air of arrogance. “Just bow to your superior!”

Both of them complied, Chaeyoung making a gentleman-like gesture while Tzuyu gave her a deep bow that could almost break her back, before the smol cub jumped on Dahyun and gave her a noogie.

“You’re just a junior committee, bro! What a rip off!”

Dahyun laughs while pushing Chaeyoung’s strong hands away. “But I’m already assigned a task for tomorrow.”

“Wow, you’re finally being put into good use.” Chaeyoung teased, the pale girl responded with a glare of her own.

“You’re gonna skip lunch again?”

Dahyun almost cooed from the tall girl’s expression as she voiced out her concern with a small pout. She snatches the small duffle bag on Tzuyu’s left hand, exchanging it with her own.

“Nope, I won’t skip our lunch time.” The pout was exchanged with a smile, “But I can’t walk to school together tomorrow morning. A new student is coming and I have to be there early to greet her and give a tour of the school.”

“A new student around this time of the year? That’s weird.” Tzuyu nods along, agreeing with the small cub. They are almost at the start of exam week for the first term of junior year and to have a student transferred in between is unlikely.  “It’s going to be hard trying to catch up and familiarizing with the school.”

“That’s when Kim Dahyun will come to the rescue!” She points to herself with a glory stance. “I, the junior committee, will become her first friend and also the hero saving the damsel in distress.”

Chaeyoung lets out a tutting sound while shaking her head, “She’s already planning to replace us with this new girl. We don’t need a leader like her, right Tzu?”

“Hey–!”

“True, I don’t know a Kim Dahyun.” Tzuyu plainly agrees.

“Yah! Not you too, Tzuyu?!”

They both exchanged looks before making a dash from the offended Dahyun, cackling at the girl struggling to catch up with her short limbs while yelling her dissatisfactions in the most polite words she could think of to the devil spawns of a tol yoda and a smol cub.

 

*

 

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were about to start eating their lunch when a panting Dahyun appeared before them with a grin. She makes their trademark salute, her minions following before pulling their leader to quickly sit and eat. Tzuyu picks up a piece of carrot from her lunchbox, ignoring her friends fighting over her last piece of shrimp.

“How was the new girl?” Chaeyoung asked, only to stealthily snatch the shrimp when Dahyun got distracted with the question.

Dahyun pouts. “She’s a bit quiet.” Her eyes followed Chaeyoung’s slow and dramatic movement of putting the shrimp into . “But she’s okay, I guess.” She gulps when the cub chews with a delighted noise. 

“Yah! Can’t you just eat normally?”

“This is how I normally eat.” Chaeyoung replied while loudly munching, just to annoy the pouting dubu. 

“Here I am, greatly prepared for a new addition to our group, just for naught.” Tzuyu dramatically frowns while lifting her slightly bigger lunch box enough for 4 people. But the food was almost on the brink of disappearing, thanks to her friends owning a black hole in their stomach.

“I did invite her, but she refused.”

“Omo, your Dahyunism charm is failing already?”

“She wants to tour the place again on her own. I got to respect that, bro.”

“Bro...” Chaeyoung awed, only to smirk playfully. “Your charm definitely didn’t work, by the way.”

“I guess she’s having difficulty adjusting.” Tzuyu chimed in, remembering how hard it was for her when she first arrived in this country as a kid. They shared small talks, mostly Chaeyoung making fun of Dahyun’s failed attempt to woo the new kid, as the lunch break ended. The trio was walking back to their class when they heard commotion in the hallway.

“What’s up?” Chaeyoung tiptoed, her hands holding Dahyun’s shoulders for support. The girls exchanged looks before turning their attention to the dumbfounded Tzuyu.

“Tzuyu-yah?” Dahyun grins creepily.

The said girl had her face drained of color as she took a few steps backwards. “No way.”

“Tzuyu, my lovely friend.” Chaeyoung sneered, before trapping the poor tall girl on the wall. “Please be a sweetheart and be our pillar?”

Not wasting time, Chaeyoung quickly grabs her shoulder to hold her in place as Dahyun hoists herself up on Tzuyu’s back. 

“Ugh, I’m going to blame you guys if I have a serious backache before I get old.”

Dahyun gives her a pat on the head, “Stop worrying about the future, Tzu...”

“...and focus on the present!” Chaeyoung ended the sentence, jumping for an attempt of a high five with Dahyun who’s up a few feet above her.

“Oh, it’s her!”

“Who?”

“Mizaki-ssi!” She pointed to the slightly taller than average girl. “These people are shamelessly gawking at her, I think she’s confused and lost.” Dahyun quickly leaps down, landing ungracefully with a loud thud which catches everyone’s attention, silencing the hallway into an awkward stillness.

“See you guys after school? I gotta save the damsel in distress.” Dahyun gives them a wink before puffing her chest proudly with her signature grin.

“Kim Dahyun coming through!” She pushes through the crowd who already recognize the junior mood maker, receiving greetings and friendly waves from a few.

Chaeyoung scoffed with an amused shake of her head, “Show off.”

Tzuyu silently observes as Dahyun approaches the girl with dark brown hair named Mizaki, giving her the most charming smile before leading the girl to their shared classroom at the end of the hallway. She listens to the murmurs of beauty and appealing, mostly students praising and gushing for the newcomer. Being one of the few uninterested in attention and such, probably because she was, or still is, one of the people being talked a lot for her fame and beauty, Tzuyu decides to turn away from the crowd and enter her class with Chaeyoung in tow.  

 

*

 

The members of SMC had made an arrangement that every morning they would meet on the last intersection towards school, each coming from different directions. Dahyun was the one who proposed the idea, which was opposed badly by Chaeyoung who always reached the place earlier than the others.

 

“My house is closer to school. I don’t want to wait for you when I can have an extra nap before class.”

“How dare you! You’d rather sleep than spend time with us, your so-called new friends?”

“I never agreed to be your friend. Only Tzuyu." Chaeyoung grinned innocently at the tall girl who smiled back, only to receive a loud dramatic gasp from Dahyun with a hand on her chest.

“Rude. You’ll regret saying that, Son Chaeyoung!”

The cub quirks an eyebrow, “Make me.” 

Tzuyu silently sighed as the duo bickers, before finally deciding to in on their endless heated discussion. “I can make simple breakfast-to-go so we can eat on our way to school... if that’s okay with both of you?”

“Oh, ekserent!” Dahyun made a chef’s kiss sound while Chaeyoung clutched herself on the tall girl like a small koala with a wide grin. “Fantastic baby!”

 

Things went well after that with Tzuyu’s little bribe arrangement of bringing mostly sweet buns or simple sandwiches for them to munch on. At least, their mouths are full to stop their childish quarrels. They can’t complain with Tzuyu’s range of food selection consisting of her favourite food, not that they have the heart to see the girl’s frown, and they can spare from suffering a growling stomach from the small breakfast before lunch time comes. 

That day however, Tzuyu goes to school alone after having a prior engagement with her grandmother who needs the young girl’s help to carry a few things to her workplace. The old woman had promised some herb saplings for the new tenant she’s working for as a caretaker, the place void of any decorations due to the owner’s sudden arrival last week. Being the health freak and caring old lady she is, her grandmother had offered to bring some pots as welcoming gifts. 

They came to a stop in front of an established condominium complex, Tzuyu watching the tall building in awe. 

“You can leave them here, Zi Yu.” Her grandmother said in their mother tongue.

“Are you sure?” She asked in concern, cautiously placing the box of pots on the top step of the front lobby’s staircase.

“I can ask the guard to help me. A cookie or two shall do the trick.” Her grandmother winked.

Tzuyu’s eyes sparkled at the mention of her grandmother’s famous homemade cookie. “What about me?”

“Yes, yes! You will get your portion at home later. Now shoo! You’re going to be late.”

“Take care, grandma. See you later!” 

Tzuyu waves back while slowly backtracking to the side road, turning on her heels to blend with the crowd of people with their own destination. She reaches the crossroad, her head poking around to find the two small figures of her bestfriends but finds none. They must have reached school by now, urging the tall girl to take longer and quicker strides to school. 

By the time she reaches the gate, a smile etched on her face at the sight of her sidekicks talking animatedly to someone. She knows the familiar back and the dark brown hair; the new girl. By the look of Chaeyoung’s entranced state, Dahyun is probably introducing them. She doesn’t know why but she has this feeling of wanting to avoid the person everyone’s talking about. 

She noticed how every person passing by the girl would either have their eyes locked on the girl or whispering to their friends while stealing glances at the claimed beauty. It was rude, and Tzuyu doesn’t want to add more attention to the new girl because she knows how exhausting and intrusive it is. Thankfully their interest in her has toned down drastically, the new girl being the latest object of everyone’s admiration. 

She stealthily approached the duo when the girl excused herself, catching them by surprise.

“Morning.”

“Tzuyu! Gosh, stop appearing out of nowhere!”

“Where were you, Yoda? You were just a millisecond late to meet her!”

“Oh yeah, speaking of her.” Chaeyoung abruptly clings to the tall girl, the latter taken aback by the unexpected stunt. “Catch me, Tzuyu! My soul is floating right now!”

“What...?”

“Since you’re a goddess yourself, please make sure my soul reaches heaven. Adios!” The cub pretends to be dead, her body limp.

“Eh? What’s wrong–”

“Ha! Told you she’s beautiful! Right, right?”

Tzuyu huffed loudly, annoyed, before pushing the fainted Chaeyoung to stand on her two feet. “What are you guys talking about?”

“The Fairy of the Rising Sun, of course!”

Tzuyu’s eyebrows furrowed at the long nonsense words, “The... what?”

“The new girl.” Dahyun simply said. She was about to respond, only for Chaeyoung to cut her with a loud, “Wait, she’s a what?!”

“Oh, did I mention she’s from Japan?”

“No.” Both of them deadpanned.

“Chaeyoung, her name screams Japanese!”

She raised her shoulders exasperatedly, “How would I know? I’ve never heard a Japanese name in my whole life, bro!”

“Bro, the surname Minatozaki screams Japanese!”

“You had just barely remembered her name, though!”

The name sounded familiar, Tzuyu thought. She had heard it before, but couldn’t pinpoint where. Maybe it’s one of the villains in the Japanese drama her grandma likes to watch.

“Wasn’t it Mizaki…?” Tzuyu disrupted the quarrel duo, recalling the name Dahyun had mentioned last time.

Before Dahyun can explain, the bell chimes and interrupts their conversation. Dahyun made a dash to her class after shouting that she will tell them later while Tzuyu and Chaeyoung made a small silent competition to see who will reach their table first before taking off to a sprint in the hallway, ignoring the yelling of student representatives to not run in the hallway. 

 

*

 

Being a member of the gardening club means she can interact with the animals in the school shelter, despite having zero interest in plants. She only knows the names of plants she can eat and some famous flowers, courtesy of her grandmother. She is not bothered to be acquainted with the rest members of the small garden at the back of the school. But when it comes to animals, she can spew out random facts about a cow no one asked for. 

This place only has a few living creature consists of two pairs of rabbits, a school of koi in the small pond, a pair of egg-laying chickens, an old dog named Kong acting as the caretaker and guardian, and some stray cats loitering around the small coop which the president had declared one afternoon as associates of the gardening club members. Rumour has it that he’s actually a er for cats, not that the other mind with the new addition. The more, the merrier, and the happier Tzuyu would be.

She is assigned for duty every Friday all by herself to compensate with her archery practice on other random days. Tzuyu has always loved being in the company of her animal friends. They are great listeners, and sometimes more understanding than her friends (don’t tell DubChaeng that). That day in particular however, she doesn’t feel like talking, rather watching them running and playing around while she feeds them and tends to the garden. 

Suddenly, rain starts pouring when she’s in the midst of feeding Kong. The stray cats had already taken refuge in their usual hiding place, so Tzuyu only needed to cover the plants and coop with the makeshift shade and make sure Kong is warm and dry in his kennel. She made a dash inside after being convinced the animals are safe on their own.

It is already late, only a few students can be seen in the entrance lobby, probably waiting for the rain to subside. It has become heavier by now as compared to the light drizzle earlier. Those few must have come unprepared, Tzuyu thought, unlike her who always has an umbrella reserved in her locker for times like this. She was about to brag to them with a smug face when her eyes caught the lone figure standing in the corner.

She recognized her right away, the dark brown hair which stood out from the rest, an uncommon trait to be found from the locals in this part of town. She studies the girl, her features are indeed pretty just by looking from her side profile. There is a slight tremble on her lips, Tzuyu caught, her eyes falling on the distressed gesture of the girl rubbing her folded arms to keep warm. She’s fidgeting on her feet, and Tzuyu deduced by the determined look on her face and the way she pulls her backpack tighter - she’s going to run through the heavy downpour.

Before she can take a step forward, Tzuyu calls the new girl.

“Hey, wait!” Sensing the call was directed to her, the student turned around. “Here, take this.”

Tzuyu hands out her blue umbrella while attempting to give her the most assuring smile, only that the muscles on her face had failed her. 

Her breath hitched. 

She really shouldn’t have listened to Dahyun because the new girl wasn’t just pretty; she is stunning. 

Tzuyu must have looked like a retard because the girl is giving her a perplexed look before her eyes crinkled into a polite smile.

“It’s fine. You don’t have a spare one, right?” She shakes her head gently with a small smile adorning her already pretty face, making her more breathtaking than before. 

That’s when Tzuyu sees something flashed in her mind, a similar smile of a small girl with chubby cheeks. She had seen them once, perhaps many times before.

“Um, are you alright?” The girl gives her a concerned look, stirring Tzuyu from her trance.

“Take it.”

Tzuyu shoves the umbrella to the girl’s cold hand, before running away under the rain. She ignores the new student calling for her, not sparing a glance to her back as she shoots out of the school’s gate. 

She stops in the middle of nowhere when her lungs decide she’s been running too much, too far. She hunches on the wall, her hand clutching her aching chest, heavily panting for air. She doesn’t know if it was out of lack of air, or out of the throbbing pain in her heart. Her eyes are burning and blurry, she’s confused if it’s from the uncontrollable rain or the tears she’s trying to hold. Despite the sting, she closed her eyes tightly, trying to burn the image of the once familiar face in the darkness behind closed lids. She gasped when the new face replaced it, the resemblance is uncanny.

Her eyes snap open, a hand muffling her gaping mouth. 

It has been a few years, but she can feel it, she knows it. The only person with that same gentle pair of honey brown eyes and gentle smile. Her sobs came out in chokes as the name forced itself out of her quivering lips.

“Sana...” 

 

She was young, but not too young to not understand the sadness she felt as her eyes fell on the keychain of the small squirrel. 5 months had passed by in the blink of an eye, but not so much for the 12 years old Tzuyu. She had found out a month after Sana’s absence that Uncle Minatozaki had passed away in an accident. She was heartbroken with the news; the man treats her like his own daughter rather than a fellow neighbour. A better relative than her own back in Taiwan. But she was more devastated by the unknown state of her friend. 

Sana must have been lonely right now. 

Her friend is closer to her father than her mother; something about a Gorgon reincarnation disguising as the woman. They often play together, the three of them, whenever the uncle has a day off. They would randomly play hide and seek, acting out Ultraman scene where uncle would be the Gomora (unwillingly after Sana relentlessly forced him), and sometimes devising a plan for the greatest prank ever just because they were out of games to play, which the victim would be none other than his own wife. Tzuyu can see why Sana loves him more because she too had started to grow attached to him. Sadly, luck never seems to be on her side.

Tzuyu wondered if she was the cause of uncle’s death. She is after all, the cursed child, the forsaken Chou. She might have been the one who brought misfortune to Sana and her family, like what happened to her own. The thought haunted her every night when she peeks out the window of her bedroom towards the empty house. She might not realize it, but the warm smile had lost its shine and her actions were more aloof rather than the usual cheery Tzuyu. She had grown distant by the day, her grandmother noticed.

“Zi Yu?”

The girl lifted her gaze from the keychain towards the door. “Yes?” 

“Want to follow me to the market?”

The old woman saw the hesitant look of the girl, “Can I pass for today?”

“Up to you.” She tried to muster her usual warm smile, “I’m not forcing you or anything, just thought you would love the fresh morning air.” 

Tzuyu felt guilty with the way her grandmother was looking at her; gentle and understanding. After contemplating for a while, she agreed to follow the old woman. She was silent along the way, the view of her surroundings wasn’t that interesting anymore. The stray thoughts of her memories with Sana seemed to occupy her mind as she walked along the usual route to the street market. It was the same road they frequented together for that one hotteok stall by the road, their favourite treat after helping her grandmother doing some chores. 

Tzuyu was slowly dragging her feet as her eyes fell on the stall, letting out a sigh as they went past the place.

“Zi Yu.” Her grandmother pulled her hand, waking her up from her reveries. “Can you wait here for a while?”

“Where are you going?”

“I got some errands to do. Just wait here, okay?”

Tzuyu gave her a small nod, taking a seat on the nearby bench along with grandma’s belongings. She absentmindedly watches as people walk past, before looking up at the blue sky. It was a beautiful sight, a wonderful day indeed. Perhaps her grandmother was right, she should be going out often to get some fresh air. She can feel her body relaxing as the cool breeze of spring blows through her hair. At the same time, she felt something cold poking her cheek.

“Eh?”

An ice cream appeared before her eyes as her grandmother offered her one before taking a seat beside her. She stared deeply at the cup of matcha ice cream in her hand. It wasn’t her favourite; it was Sana’s. Everything she does, everywhere she looks, everyday she wakes up, she sees her friend. 

Her Sana-unnie.

She felt a hand patting her head, whispering comforting words as her sight turned blurry. 

“I miss her, grandma.” She sniffed, “I miss Sana.”

“I miss her too, that little rascal.” The old woman snorted while shaking her head. “But I believe we will meet with her again soon.”

“You think so, grandma?”

“I’m not sure about the future, but there’s no harm in having a little bit of hope. Don’t you think so?”

She turned away, thinking about her grandmother’s wise words before agreeing. She just needs to have more faith in Sana and their friendship. She turned back to her grandmother, this time with a determined smile which resulted with a comforting hug from the relieved woman.

“Be more patient and never lose that smile of yours, Zi Yu.” She pinched the dimpled cheek, “Sana wouldn’t be able to recognize your wrinkly face with that deep frown.”

Tzuyu laughed heartily, for the first time since Sana left. She remembered what her friend had taught her when she missed her parents, and decided to do the same for her.

A year has already passed, Sana still hasn’t come back and Tzuyu is still missing her. However, she never loses hope. She keeps on wishing on the stars, the jar almost filled to the brim. It helps lessen her sadness of not having Sana by her side, the stars replacing the longing little by little. She had made a promise to herself that she will stop wishing when the jar is full, that perhaps she had wished too much that the fairy might be getting tired of reading the same thing every night. 

She had gained new friends along the way, although not as close as Sana. She realized that she’s been holding on to her foolish wish far too long, and things had changed. She needs a change too. 

A few nights later, Tzuyu chose to keep her wishes to herself instead as she screwed the lid of the full jar with difficulty, afraid that she might anger the fairy with her never-ending wishes. She put the jar in one of the shoe boxes she salvaged during her grandmother’s cleaning spree, along with the squirrel keychain. She settled on another promise; that she will always remember her friend but for the time being, she must say goodbye.

Taking one last look at the squirrel, she whispered with a sad smile before closing the lid and hid it in the darkest corner of her closet.

“See you later, Sana.”

 

 

 

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A/N: There's always this time span in life where you had no memories of, but suddenly they appeared in flashes as you grow up. Have you ever had that moment? Well, Tzuyu here does, hehe...

If there's a mimo reader here, do check out my Yakuza/Ninja AU !!

Thank you for reading and have a nice week, folks!