it takes mina a few seconds to catch up with the woman. she realises now, tapping her probably hadn’t been a good choice of getting her attention. mina didn’t think things through and now she needs to do something. riddled with guilt, she attempts to make amends.

“i’m so sorry. i know i shouldn’t have touched you without permission. i just thought you might need help.” mina clenches her fists as she apologises. she feels awful about the entire incident. probably a little too eager to befriend someone. “do you need to go somewhere? i assume you’re in the archery team? i’m going to the archery field. you can come with me if you’re lost. it’s the other way from where you’re headed.”

the woman looks down at her map again, eyebrows furrowed. mina watches as she maps out the route with her finger before folding the map away.

“i thought it was that way.” the woman mumbles sheepishly, rubbing the back of neck. “i’m sorry too. this is all new to me. i don’t know what to expect.”

wanting to take her out of her misery, mina shakes her head. “you’re adding extra stress on your plate when you don’t need to. don’t sweat it.” she smiles at her in greeting. “i’m mina.”

“i’m tzuyu.” she introduces herself, bowing awkwardly.

as the two of them walk together, there’s an urge within mina to make conversation. she’s not usually the one to start, especially being around momo and sana all the time. but, she thinks she’ll need to make a change for once. if the two of them befriended nayeon in their last trip, surely, mina can do the same? she builds up the courage to strike a conversation before they board their bus, fearing for the chance to slip out of her hands.

“so, tzuyu, is this your first time at the olympics?” mina asks. she notices tzuyu jump back a little before a hue of red spreads over the tip of her ears.

“yes. i practiced a lot in my free time and the coach suggested for me to join. i never thought i’d be here, actually. while i strive to do my best, archery has always been a hobby. this is the first time i’m taking part in such a grand competition.” tzuyu nods as they head inside the bus. as mina watches her, she seems to be relieved as they sit down, a shift from her hesitancy earlier. “how about you? you seem like you’ve been to one before.”

“actually, this is my first time too.” mina chuckles at the look of shock on tzuyu’s face. “i probably seem more comfortable because i was born in japan. this is all familiar to me. i have a few friends who have been here before though. they’ve given me some tips on what it’s like.”

“any tips you can share with me?” tzuyu comments cheekily. the shift in tone takes mina by surprise at first but the gleam of mischief in tzuyu’s eyes makes her laugh.

“how can i expose the secrets to another team?” mina her head to the side. “i can’t give you any ideas, especially when we’re the team all eyes will be on. being the hosting country and all.” she adds.

“ah, right. you’re in team japan. i should keep an eye on you while we practice.” tzuyu comments. “you guys don’t have a match in the first round. our team is already going to be playing in a few days.”

the bus comes to a stop then, reaching the archery field. the two of them hop off, taking in the area for their games. a few other people are already practicing, surprising mina. just how early did they wake up to be going through sets already?

“good luck with practice mina.” tzuyu smiles, as she heads to an empty spot. “thank you for saving me this morning.”

mina grins as she waves, picking the next available podium. there’s two others in between her and tzuyu but she can still see her in action. it’s been a hectic morning for sure but maybe mina can confidently say that she’s made her first friend at the olympics.

for ten minutes straight, mina fires shot after shot. the electronic board below her target shows her all of the scores where her arrow lands. the advanced technology is definitely something she’s not used to and she’s amazed by the speed of her results appearing.

it’s just a mere moment where mina lets her gaze wander over to tzuyu. she’s curious about her performance. mina is left stunned by tzuyu’s form, looking down at her scoreboard. in a practice run, she’s hitting consistent 10s in all of her shots. as she watches the next shot, mina makes note of tzuyu’s etherealness. she makes note of the way the corners of tzuyu’s lips twitch, morphing into a smile against the string before she lets go. she makes note of the way she lets the bow swing in her hands.

it hits the dead centre of the target, again.

as if aware that someone is looking her way, tzuyu looks around before locking eyes with mina. she smiles at her and mina offers her a thumbs-up, utterly impressed by her skills. if they’re going to be up against such talent, she’s not so sure if they’ll reach anywhere near the finals.

momo and giselle, her teammates, arrive then. mina smiles, waving at them from her spot.

“how long have you been here for? i